Ex-Trump adviser Flynn invokes Fifth Amendment

WASHINGTON — Retired Lt. Gen Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser under President Trump, refused to comply with a Senate Intelligence Committee subpoena as a top House Democrat disclosed portions of new documents suggesting Flynn lied about his Russia ties to federal investigators.

Flynn’s refusal comes as Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, cited a previously undisclosed document alleging that Flynn had “lied” to security-clearance investigators about payments he received “directly” from Russia for appearing at a December 2015 gala hosted by Russian state-owned media company RT.

In the letter, Cummings cites the March 14, 2016, Report of Investigation indicating Flynn “told security clearance investigators that he was paid by ‘U.S. companies’ when he traveled to Moscow” for that gala and told investigators that “he has not received any benefit from a foreign country.”

In a letter to Burr and Warner on Monday, Flynn’s attorneys cited the Justice Department’s recent appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel for the federal investigation into Russian interference in the election as reason to steer clear of congressional probes.