WASHINGTON _ The House Intelligence Committee is preparing to issue subpoenas to President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, according to the committee's ranking Democrat, following the lead of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said the House subpoenas "will be designed to maximize our chance of getting the information we need" for the committee's investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign.
"I think we need to use whatever compulsory (processes) necessary to get the information that he possesses," Schiff said.
Earlier this week, Flynn's lawyers said he would refuse separate Senate subpoenas for any records about his former business dealings with Russia, citing his constitutional right to avoid self-incrimination.
The Senate committee then issued separate subpoenas to two of Flynn's businesses, which the panel said were not entitled to Fifth Amendment protections.
A federal grand jury in Virginia also has issued subpoenas regarding Flynn's business dealings with Turkey and Russia, and the newly appointed special counsel investigating the Russia matter, Robert Mueller III, is expected to focus on Flynn's role as well.
Given the criminal investigations, Schiff said the House panel is highly unlikely to grant Flynn's earlier request, through his lawyers, for immunity in exchange for his testimony.
He said the panel would need more information about what Flynn would say and whether the testimony would be truthful. It also would need to ensure that granting immunity wouldn't affect the special counsel's ongoing investigation, he said.
"That's not something I think we would entertain until far later, if at all," said Schiff, a former prosecutor. "Certainly count me as very skeptical that we would get to that point."
Trump forced Flynn to resign as national security adviser in February after news accounts revealed Flynn had misled White House officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, about his contacts with Russian officials.
Schiff spoke to reporters at a breakfast Wednesday hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.
