Several hours after the AP reported that former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn would refuse to comply with a Senate subpoena, nor produce requested documents as he prepared to plead the Fifth, his lawyers explained that a daily "escalating public frenzy against him" and the Justice Department’s appointment of a special counsel "have created a legally dangerous environment for him to cooperate with a Senate investigation."
That’s the explanation provided in a letter that was written on behalf of the former national security adviser and obtained by The Associated Press under President Donald Trump. It also sounds very much like a cop out.
Earlier in the day, a Republican member of the Senate Intelligence Committee said “we will get to the truth one way or another” even though former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is citing Fifth Amendment protections in the panel’s investigation into Russia. Sen. James Lankford tweeted that it is Flynn’s right to invoke his constitutional right against self-incrimination as part of the probe into interference in the 2016 elections. The Oklahoma lawmaker tweeted: “We need facts, not speculation & anonymous sources.”
Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Flynn’s move was “unfortunate but not unexpected” and the committee would gain information in other ways.
Flynn's letter, which was sent on Monday by Flynn’s legal team to the Senate Intelligence committee, also lays out the case for Flynn to invoke his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination and his decision not to produce documents in response to a congressional subpoena.
The letter also says that the current context of the Senate’s investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election threatens that “any testimony he provides could be used against him.” He is probably right, espeically if he is guilty, although by pleading the Fifth, it is virtually assured that at least the court of public opinion has turned largely against the former Lt. General, with the only question on people's minds is what is Flynn hiding. Perhaps the answer will be revealed either today or in the coming days as part of the now daily release of WaPo/NYT bombshell dump, which tends to hit just after the market closes.