Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn will give documents to the Senate intelligence committee probing Russia’s meddling in the 2016 US election.
Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn will give documents to the Senate intelligence committee probing Russia’s meddling in the 2016 US election.
Mr Flynn’s decision came as President Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen rejected a House of Representatives intelligence committee request for information and ex-White House staffer Boris Epshteyn said he had been contacted for information.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin sounded similar tones as they criticised the US scrutiny of Russia’s attempts to sway the presidential election.
Mr Flynn’s co-operation was the first signal that he and the Senate panel had found common ground.
Congressional investigators continue to press for key documents in the investigation and retired lieutenant general Mr Flynn is trying to limit damaging disclosures that hostile Democratic politicians could use against him.
He previously invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination in declining an earlier subpoena from the committee, which sought an array of documents and information related to his contacts with Russia.
Mr Flynn’s lawyers argued the request was too broad and would have required him to turn over information that could have been used against him.
In response, the Senate panel narrowed the scope of its request and also issued subpoenas seeking records from Mr Flynn’s businesses.
One of the businesses, Flynn Intel Group Inc, did consulting work for a Turkish businessman that required Mr Flynn to register with the US Justice Department as a foreign agent earlier this year.
The other, Flynn Intel Group LLC, was used to accept money from Mr Flynn’s paid speeches.
Among the payments was more than 33,000 dollars (£25,700) Mr Flynn received from RT, the Russian state-sponsored television network that US intelligence officials have dubbed a propaganda arm of the Kremlin.
On Tuesday, a person close to Mr Flynn said he would turn over documents related to the two businesses as well as some personal documents the committee sought in the narrower request.
Mr Flynn plans to produce some of the documents by next week, said the source.
While the Senate committee awaits documents from Mr Flynn, Mr Putin and Mr Trump dismissed the US intelligence community’s conclusion that the Kremlin interfered in the 2016 presidential election by hacking Democratic emails.
In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro, Mr Putin reaffirmed his strong denial of Russian involvement in the hacking and also said the allegations were “fiction” invented by the Democrats in order to explain their loss.
Mr Trump made a similar claim in a tweet early on Tuesday, saying: “Russian officials must be laughing at the U. S. & how a lame excuse for why the Dems lost the election has taken over the Fake News.”
Mr Cohen said he turned down a request for information from the House intelligence committee looking into the Russian interference.
“I declined the invitation to participate as the request was poorly phrased, overly broad and not capable of being answered, ” he said.
“I find it irresponsible and improper that the request sent to me was leaked by those working on the committee.”
Mr Cohen, a longtime lawyer for the Trump Organisation, remains a personal brief for Mr Trump.
He served as a cable television surrogate for the Republican during the presidential campaign.
Mr Cohen told ABC News he had been asked by both the House and Senate intelligence committees to provide information and evidence about contacts he had with Russian officials.
His ties with Russian interests came up in February when The New York Times reported that he helped broker a Ukraine peace plan that would call for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and a referendum to let Ukrainians decide whether the part of the country seized by Russia in 2014 should be leased to Moscow.
The Russian government denied knowing anything about such a plan.
The House intelligence committee has also sought information from Mr Epshteyn, a former staffer in the Trump White House.
Mr Epshteyn said in a statement that he had asked the committee questions to better understand what information it was seeking and wouldl determine whether he can reasonably provide it.
AP
