WASHINGTON: Former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn declined on Monday to comply with a subpoena from the Senate intelligence committee as it investigates charges of Russian interference in the US presidential election.

He invoked the constitution’s Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

The retired lieutenant general, a key witness in the Russia probe, sent a letter to the committee informing members of his decision.

The Senate committee is conducting one of the main congressional probes into US intelligence agency allegations of Russian meddling in the presidential election and whether there was any collusion between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia.

The committee first requested documents from Flynn in an April 28 letter, but he declined to cooperate with the request. Then it issued a subpoena.

It was not clear what the committee would do if Flynn decided not to comply.

Flynn was forced to resign as Trump’s national security adviser in February, after less than a month on the job, for failing to disclose the content of his talks with Sergei Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, and then misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations.

On Monday, Senator James Lankford, a Republican member of the intelligence panel, said on Twitter that Flynn was within his rights to invoke the Fifth Amendment of the constitution.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2017