WASHINGTON
— Michael T. Flynn, the former national security adviser, has offered
to be interviewed by House and Senate investigators who are examining
the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia in exchange for immunity from
prosecution, according to his lawyer and a congressional official.
But the congressional official said investigators were unwilling to broker a deal with Mr. Flynn — who resigned last month
for misleading White House officials about his contacts with Russia’s
ambassador to the United States — until they are further along in their
inquiries and they better understand what information Mr. Flynn might
offer as part of a deal.
In
a statement on Thursday evening, Mr. Flynn’s lawyer confirmed
discussions with the House and Senate intelligence committees about
possible testimony by his client. The lawyer, Robert Kelner, did not
provide specifics about the terms under which Mr. Flynn would testify,
but said that “no reasonable person, who has the benefit of advice from
counsel, would submit to questioning in such a highly politicized,
witch-hunt environment without assurances against unfair prosecution.”
“General
Flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it,
should circumstances permit,” the statement said.
The Wall Street Journal reported Mr. Flynn’s offer to testify.
The
F.B.I. is investigating whether any of President Trump’s advisers
colluded with the Russian government in its efforts to disrupt the 2016
presidential election. An immunity deal would make it impossible for the
Justice Department to prosecute Mr. Flynn.
It is unclear whether any of Mr. Trump’s other former advisers have asked for immunity from the congressional committees.
It
is common for witnesses to demand immunity in exchange for their
testimony to ensure that their words cannot be used to prosecute them.
Under federal law, Congress can grant witnesses immunity for their
testimony, but lawmakers normally do so only after consulting with
prosecutors.
Congress
normally avoids doing anything that could disrupt a federal
investigation. Federal law allows the Justice Department to delay a
congressional immunity deal but not block it outright.
The Justice Department declined to comment on Thursday evening.
Some experts cautioned against drawing hasty conclusions about Mr. Flynn’s request for immunity.
“At
this early stage, I wouldn’t read anything into this request beyond
smart lawyering,” said Mark Zaid, a Washington lawyer who specializes in
national security cases. “In such a politically charged, high-profile
national security case, I couldn’t imagine not first asking for
immunity.”
“I
would suspect both Congress and the F.B.I. will first generate
additional evidence from smaller players before deciding to immunize
General Flynn,” Mr. Zaid said.
Mr.
Flynn, a retired three-star Army general and former head of the Defense
Intelligence Agency, was one of Mr. Trump’s earliest advisers on
national security issues during the presidential campaign. He drew
attention for his strident attacks against former Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton, as well as for his advocacy of forging closer ties to
the Russian government.
He
has long argued that the United States and Russia have many common
interests, including combating terrorism, and in December 2015 he
attended a gala in Moscow during which he sat next to President Vladimir
V. Putin of Russia.
But
it was his contacts with Russian officials that ultimately led to his
short tenure as Mr. Trump’s national security adviser. Specifically, Mr.
Flynn had several phone conversations late last year with Sergey I.
Kislyak, the Russian ambassador. In one of the calls, the two men
discussed sanctions that the Obama administration imposed on Russia in
response to the Russian government’s efforts to disrupt the presidential
election.
Mr.
Flynn misled some White House officials, including Vice President Mike
Pence, about the substance of the phone calls, saying that he and the
ambassador had only exchanged holiday pleasantries.
He
resigned from the job in mid-February, saying in a statement that he
had given the vice president and others “incomplete information” about
the conversations with Mr. Kislyak.
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