Less than 24 hours after Trump fired James Comey, the tables have turned and Senate Intel Committee leaders announced on Wednesday afternoon they have issued a subpoena to Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn for documents related to its probe into Russian interference of the presidential election. In a joint statement from Commttee chair Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and ranking member Mark Warner (D-Va.) the committee disclosed that it had first requested the documents in an April 28 letter to Flynn, but he "declined" to cooperate with the request.
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence today issued a subpoena for former National Security Advisor Lieutenant General Michael Flynn. The subpoena requests documents relevant to the Committee's investigation into Russian interference with the 2016 election. The Committee first requested these documents in an April 28, 2017 letter to Lieutenant General Flynn, but he declined, through counsel, to cooperate with the Committee's request.
Last night, CNN reported that the FBI had also issued subpoenas relating to Flynn's business records, so the ousted National Security Adviser is now at at the center of both investigations, although as disclosed today, he did not comply with the committee's earlier request.
The committee had sent a series of request for records from Trump associates on any dealings with Russians in April, the Hill first reported but as of the deadline Tuesday afternoon, Burr told reporters that he had received only two responses, and suggested that he was willing to issue subpoenas to compel the rest. One of those responses, from former Trump foreign policy advisor Carter Page, is publicly known. Burr declined to disclose the second.
Aside from Page and Flynn, Trump's "informal" adviser Roger Stone and former foreign policy adviser Paul Manafort were also reportedly sent letters. The letters ask for the men to list any meetings they might have had with Russian officials between June 16, 2015 — the day Trump formally launched his campaign — and Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, as well as records of any communications during the period.
At the end of March we reported that Flynn had told the FBI he was willing to testify before the Senate and House intelligence committees in their ongoing Russian interference probes, in exchange for immunity, but it neither committee has accepted the offer. As a reminder, Flynn was fired in February for misleading Vice President Pence about the contents of a December phone call with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Flynn has also been under scrutiny for accepting payments from Russia and Turkey and allegedly misleading the government about them.
The senators have also requested details on any financial assets or real estate holding tied to Russia, and a broader list of meetings between any Trump campaign aides and Russians.
In December 2015, Flynn was paid $45,000 to speak at an event hosted in Moscow by the Kremlin-backed network RT, during which he was seated with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also received payments for additional speeches to Russian firms Kaspersky and Volga Dnepr.
As a retired military officer, Flynn is prohibited under the emoluments clause of the Constitution from accepting payment from a foreign government without advance permission from both the secretary of State and the secretary of the Army.
According to documents released by House Oversight Committee ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), Flynn did not disclose the RT payment when he applied to renew his security clearance in January 2016, just a month after he traveled to Moscow.
Today's letter is confirmation that the Senate Intel panel is moving forward with its Russia probe despite the termination of Comey.