Silke Jasso
Seeking information on payments made to former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn by Turkish and Russian interests, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform wrote a letter to White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus in March.
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The White House has responded, making it clear that they won’t comply.
That letter sought additional information on his security clearance, his contacts with foreign nationals inside and outside his professional role, and details around any clearances and payments made to Flynn as early as 2015.
The White House responded to the committee on April 19, in a letter being circulated today and first obtained by CNN. In it, Assistant to the President Marc Short writes that the White House will not comply with the House committee’s investigation and will not provide documents and information requested of them pursuant to the investigation.
#WhiteHouse letter to #Chaffetz and @RepCummings on Michael #Flynn security clearance and #Russia payments. pic.twitter.com/NCQWHbJN7N
— Oversight Committee (@OversightDems) April 25, 2017
Short lists a number of reasons that the White House is unable to comply with the request. They’re largely technical; the Committee asked for some documents that the White House would not have. But one defense is causing alarm on both sides of the aisle.
The White House says it is “unclear” how their request for contacts and communications between Michael Flynn and foreign nationals after the inauguration is “relevant to the stated purpose of the Committee’s review, which according to your letter is to examine Lt. Gen. Flynn’s disclosure of payments.”
After disagreeing that the Committee has the right to know whom Michael Flynn was in contact with during his time in the administration, the White House writes that as the investigation is “focused on activities and payments that occurred in 2015 and 2016,” they “cannot conduct a search for responsive documents.”
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This reasoning seems to ignore the distinct possibility that Flynn, who resigned his position in February and has asked for immunity from prosecution, maintained contact with the foreign entities that had him on their payrolls as recently as one year ago.
The committee wrote similar letters to the Department of Defense, Director of National Intelligence and the FBI; the Department of Defense has already complied, providing documents that the Committee analyzed today.
If the White House continues to stonewall the Committee’s investigation, their options are somewhat limited. The House Oversight and Government Ethics Committee, led by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), has limited subpoena ability, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Should it come to this, only Chaffetz has the power to issue and sign a subpoena pursuant to an Oversight Committee investigation. It remains to be seen if he’ll take this action.
