On Thursday, Michael Flynn made a shameless bid for immunity in exchange for his testimony on Trump-Russian ties. Friday morning saw President Trump back up one of his Top 3 bad-hire decisions, but Flynn still hadn’t received a bite from either the FBI or Congress on his offer. That is, until now. The Senate Intelligence Committee has rejected the immunity offer, via a senior official who spoke with NBC News.
So, Flynn will still undoubtedly be called to testify, but it’s probably gonna have to happen under subpoena. At least where the Senate is concerned, Flynn won’t have the benefit of immunity, which (sadly for him) is a concept that he heavily criticized in light of a Hillary Clinton aide’s partial immunity during the private email server probe. Here’s the word from NBC:
The Senate Intelligence Committee turned down the request by former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s lawyer for a grant of immunity in exchange for his testimony, two congressional sources told NBC News.
A senior congressional official with direct knowledge said Flynn’s lawyer was told it was “wildly preliminary” and that immunity was “not on the table” at the moment. A second source said the committee communicated that it is “not receptive” to Flynn’s request “at this time.”
No dice from the Senate, although the House Intel Committee may feel differently — god only knows what madcap Devin Nunes will do, especially since he’s likely colluding with the White House. Then again, Nunes says he’s already arranged for Paul Manafort to testify with no mention of immunity, and Manafort’s woes are just as bad (if not worse) than that Flynn’s facing.
How will the FBI decide on Flynn’s bid? He’s not likely to get a deal there, especially because he already lied to the FBI once about discussing sanctions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Director James Comey could always surprise, but with the Turkey lobbying news, the paid speeches in Russia, and plenty of other Flynn-associated dirt rolling around, the odds don’t look to be in his favor.
(Via NBC News)