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Michael Flynn Refuses To Cooperate With Senate Intelligence Committee

Michael Flynn Refuses To Cooperate With Senate Intelligence Committee

WASHINGTON ― Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is so far refusing to cooperate with the Senate Intelligence Committee, which has subpoenaed for documents related to his interactions with Russian officials.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Richard Burr (R-N.C.) told reporters Thursday that Flynn's lawyers have yet to turn over any documents, although there "may be a day or two left" for them to do so.

"Michael Flynn has not cooperated with the committee up to this point," Burr said, adding, however, that he has not received a "definitive answer" on whether they will comply.

Flynn resigned in February, after it became public that he lied about whether he had substantive contacts with the Russian ambassador before President Donald Trump took office.

Burr declined to say whether he will hold a contempt of Congress vote regarding Flynn, stating, "I'm not going to go into what we might or might not do we've got a full basket of things we might want to test."

Flynn's lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment.

Trump kept Flynn on long after the White House had been alerted to his ethics issues. Before Trump's inauguration, Flynn had told the transition team that he was under federal investigation for secretly lobbying for the Turkish government during the campaign, according to The New York Times. Even with this information, Trump named him national security adviser.

Trump continued to keep Flynn on the job after Sally Yates, the acting attorney general, warned the White House that he could be subject to blackmail by the Russians for hiding his contacts with the ambassador.

The president is now under fire for urging FBI Director James Comey to drop his investigation into Flynn during an Oval Office meeting in February. Trump fired Comey last week and admitted that the bureau's Russia probe was on his mind when he did so.

The House Intelligence Committee also announced Thursday that it has requested documents from the Justice Department and the FBI related to the dismissal of Comey and any conversations between Trump and the former FBI director.

On Wednesday, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein named former FBI Director Robert Mueller the special counsel in charge of investigating Russia's role in the 2016 elections.

This is a breaking news entry and will continue to be updated.

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