A Democratic source said that Democrats on the intelligence committee are resistant to the offer. Lobbying on behalf of a foreign government requires registration with the Justice Department. The president is not supposed to direct ongoing investigations. But for now, law enforcement officials say there is no indication the Federal Bureau of Investigation wants to re-interview him.
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The act in itself may not be too severe; however, Flynn communicated the information before he even discussed it with the new incoming president and vice president and did not immediately inform them of the communications.
Democrats and others say the House investigation has already been undermined by committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes and are calling for an independent, bipartisan probe like the so-called 9/11 Commission. “The discussions did not include immunity or other possible conditions for his appearance”. He was also paid $22,500 by two companies with close ties to the Kremlin for speeches. And the second point that was made to me, and this was also underscored by Sean Spicer, and that is it was told to me by the Deputy Assistant that these materials were produced in the ordinary course of business.
Trump again Sunday tried to deflect attention into the investigation into whether there was any collusion between his team and Russia’s actions, tweeting the real investigations should be into surveillance of his associates and leaking for their identities.
Flynn, a retired lieutenant general who headed the Defense Intelligence Agency before being pushed out by the Obama administration, advised the Trump campaign beginning in 2015.
In a form signed by Flynn on March 31, the former White House official listed speaking engagements to Russian entities, including the Kremlin-funded RT TV, Volga-Dnepr Airlines and Kaspersky Government Security Solutions Inc, a USA subsidiary of Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab.
Flynn resigned three weeks later, ostensibly because he had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his talks with Kislyak, and Pence had gone on to repeat the mischaracterization publicly in a television interview.
After viewing the documents at the White House himself, Schiff asked how administration officials knew the documents he viewed were the same that were shown to Nunes.
Trump has repeatedly used Twitter to attack reports on Russian election meddling as “fake news” and “witch hunts” and denounce leakers of classified information on the issue.
Nunes postponed a hearing that was to take place this week at which Yates was to testify.
The former Army Lt. “He said he should get immunity”.
Flynn attorney Robert Kelner said that Flynn’s first filing was a draft that normally would have been revised through a consultation between the White House counsel’s office and the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
What Flynn could tell investigators is unknown.
Trump won the election, but thinks it’s his vanquished opponent whose ties to Russian Federation should be investigated.
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Flynn retroactively registered as a foreign agent with the Justice Department for work that his firm, Flynn Intel Group, did for a Dutch consulting company, Inovo BV, which has ties to President Recep Erdogan of Turkey. The four senators, Thomas Carper, Margaret Hassan, Claire McCaskill, and Jon Tester, expressed similar frustration at what they say is a lack of information to their questions about the vetting of top administration officials.
