Burr: Flynn not cooperating with Senate Russia probe

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr said Thursday that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is not cooperating with his panel’s investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

But the North Carolina Republican said he does not have a "definitive answer" yet on whether Flynn is complying with a subpoena issued to him last week for documents related to his contacts with Russian officials.


Earlier Thursday, The Associated Press reported, based on comments from Burr, that Flynn had informed the panel he would not honor the subpoena. But Burr later said his comments “may have been premature” and that “there may be a day or two left” until the deadline to respond to the subpoena.

“We have not gotten the definitive answer,” Burr clarified. “Michael Flynn has not cooperated with the committee up to this point.”

Asked whether he would recommend a contempt of Congress vote if Flynn fails to comply, Burr responded: “I'm not going to go into what we might or might not do. We've got a full basket of things that we're willing to test.”

Flynn’s lawyer, Robert Kelner, declined to comment when asked last week whether Flynn would comply with the subpoena. Kelner did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

If Flynn refuses to comply, Congress could vote to hold him in contempt and refer his case to the Justice Department for criminal charges or to federal district court for civil enforcement. But these routes are long and complicated, and there’s no guarantee they would succeed.