James Comey’s abrupt ouster late Tuesday afternoon thrust Washington into an acute state of confusion. While many Republicans defended Donald Trump’s decision to fire the F.B.I. director, parroting the White House line that Comey’s removal was motivated by his mishandling of the Clinton e-mail probe, others expressed concern and even bafflement over the bizarre timing of the president’s announcement—which multiple reports suggest had far more to do with the ongoing Justice Department investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible ties to Russia.

The president had reportedly grown increasingly frustrated with Comey, with whom he had a fraught relationship, for not publicly quashing the narrative that his campaign may have colluded with the Russian government during the 2016 election. One adviser told Politico that Trump repeatedly demanded to know why the investigation hadn’t gone away, and would yell at the TV when the subject came up. The Wall Street Journal reported that the White House had wanted Comey to rebuke allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government; instead, Comey confirmed the existence of the Russian probe and said he had “no evidence” of the president’s claim that President Barack Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower.

But there were also more serious, proximate events that may have been weighing on the president’s mind. Within hours of Comey’s exit, CNN reported that federal prosecutors had recently issued grand jury subpoenas seeking business records from associates of Mike Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, as part of the ongoing Justice Department investigation. (Flynn has requested immunity from the F.B.I. and House and Senate committees in exchange for testifying before Congress.) The timing of the subpoenas immediately fueled speculation that Comey’s ouster had been engineered in order to install a friendlier director to lead the law enforcement agency. The New York Times reported Tuesday night that White House and D.O.J. officials had been “working on building a case against [Comey] since at least last week,” and that Attorney General Jeff Sessions “had been charged with coming up with reasons to fire him.” (Trump and his associates have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.)

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Alexandria, Virginia, issued subpoenas to individuals who worked with Flynn after he was fired as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014 by the Obama administration, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing individuals with knowledge of the situation. According to the report, the F.B.I. is seeking business records of payments Flynn received from the Russian and Turkish governments. In March, Flynn faced a fresh wave of scrutiny when he retroactively registered as a foreign agent for $500,000 worth of lobbying work he did on behalf of the Turkish government and a $45,000 appearance at an event sponsored by RT, a state-sponsored Russian television network. Last month, Jason Chaffetz, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, and Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the panel, said Flynn may have broken the law for not properly disclosing the payments. As The New York Times notes, grand jury subpoenas are common in investigations and do not portend imminent charges. (Flynn has denied any wrongdoing.)

It is unclear whether the White House was aware of the Flynn subpoenas prior to Comey’s firing, which the Trump administration claimed was driven by the F.B.I. director’s handling of the Clinton e-mail investigation. But Trump’s dismissal letter itself raised several glaring red flags that Russia was front of mind when he decided to fire him. “While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the bureau,” the president wrote.

For his part, Trump didn’t seem to expect such a swift backlash from removing Comey. While Democrats have called for an independent prosecutor to oversee the Russia investigation, media reports indicate the White House expected some Democrats would welcome Comey’s dismissal—or, at the very least, that their past criticism of the F.B.I. director would delegitimize their outrage. When Trump reportedly informed Chuck Schumer of his decision, the Senate minority leader warned him that he was making a “big mistake.” The president responded, “O.K. . . . We’ll see.”</s>Washington (CNN) Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas to associates of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn seeking business records, as part of the ongoing probe of Russian meddling in last year's election, according to people familiar with the matter. CNN learned of the subpoenas hours before President Donald Trump fired FBI director James Comey.

The subpoenas represent the first sign of a significant escalation of activity in the FBI's broader investigation begun last July into possible ties between Trump campaign associates and Russia.

The subpoenas issued in recent weeks by the US Attorney's Office in Alexandria, Virginia, were received by associates who worked with Flynn on contracts after he was forced out as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014, according to the people familiar with the investigation.

Robert Kelner, an attorney for Flynn, declined to comment. The US Attorney's Office in Alexandria, the Justice Department and the FBI also declined to comment.

Read More</s>Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas to associates of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn seeking business records, as part of the ongoing probe of Russian meddling in last year’s election, according to people familiar with the matter. CNN learned of the subpoenas hours before President Donald Trump fired FBI director James Comey.

The subpoenas represent the first sign of a significant escalation of activity in the FBI’s broader investigation begun last July into possible ties between Trump campaign associates and Russia.

The subpoenas issued in recent weeks by the US Attorney’s Office in Alexandria, Virginia, were received by associates who worked with Flynn on contracts after he was forced out as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014, according to the people familiar with the investigation.

Robert Kelner, an attorney for Flynn, declined to comment. The US Attorney’s Office in Alexandria, the Justice Department and the FBI also declined to comment.

Investigators have been looking into possible wrongdoing in how Flynn handled disclosures about payments from clients tied to foreign governments including Russia and Turkey, US officials briefed on the matter have told CNN.

The Flynn inquiry is one piece of the broader investigation, which FBI Director James Comey testified in a Senate hearing last week is led jointly by the Alexandria US Attorney’s Office and the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

Flynn was forced to resign as Trump’s national security advisor in February after failing to disclose the nature of phone discussions with Russia’s ambassador in Washington, Sergey Kislyak.

Congressional investigators have also accused Flynn of possibly breaking the law by not properly disclosing a $45,000 payment for an appearance he made at an event in Moscow to celebrate Russia Today. The Russian government-funded news outlet that US intelligence agencies say played a key role in disseminating stolen emails intended to damage the candidacy of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.

Flynn’s lawyer, Robert Kelner, has said that Flynn was not hiding anything, noting that he briefed the DIA on his trip to Russia.

“As has previously been reported, General Flynn briefed the Defense Intelligence Agency, a component agency of DoD, extensively regarding the RT speaking event trip both before and after the trip, and he answered any questions that were posed by DIA concerning the trip during those briefings,” Kelner said in a statement

In March, Flynn’s lobbying firm registered as a foreign agent for the Turkish government, under a $500,000 contract.

Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, emerged in 2015 as a strident critic of the Obama administration, which fired him. He built a close relationship last year with then-candidate Trump and became a frequent Trump campaign surrogate before assuming a brief tenure as national security advisor.

US Attorney Dana Boente, whose office issued the subpoenas, is also leading the investigation into WikiLeaks and the effort to bring possible charges against the group’s founder, Julian Assange. Boente is also acting as head of the Justice Department’s national security section.

The FBI interviewed Flynn about the December calls with Kislyak and determined that he wasn’t intentionally trying to be deceptive about the nature of what was discussed, according to US officials briefed on the investigation. But investigators have been investigating Flynn’s business ties after he left the government and before he joined the Trump administration.</s>ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CN) – Amid the fallout of President Donald Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey, federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas seeking the business records of known associates of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Looking for business records relevant to the ongoing investigation of Russian meddling in last year’s election, the subpoenas could be an indication of escalating activity in the FBI’s search into possible Trump campaign associate ties with the Kremlin.

The subpoenas were issued by U.S. Attorney Dana Boente in the last several weeks from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Alexandria, Va. The developments were first reported by CNN.

The people who received the subpoenas are known to have worked with Flynn on various contracts after he was ousted from the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014. Flynn once served as director of the agency.

Boente was only recently appointed as acting assistant attorney general for the U.S. Justice Department’s national security division, which is responsible for oversight into the FBI’s Russia investigation.

Robert Kelner, Flynn’s attorney, did not return a call for comment Wednesday.

News of the subpoenas came amid other shockwaves rocking Washington this week, namely the firing of FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday night.

As details unfolded on Wednesday, anonymous sources claimed Comey sought additional funds and resources for the agency’s investigation into Russia’s meddling. The sources also reportedly said Comey disclosed his request both to lawmakers on Capitol Hill and to Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who wrote a memo that served as the basis for Comey’s firing.

Comey has been invited to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee next Tuesday but he has not yet confirmed if he will attend. The hearing is likely to be classified.

Trump did not say Wednesday who Comey’s replacement would be or if they would lead the ongoing Russian investigation, but the president said on Twitter that he will find a new director “who will do a far better job, bringing back the spirit and prestige of the FBI.”

The former FBI director confirmed last week that inquiries into Flynn were a piece of the larger investigation. CNN reported on Tuesday night that investigators were exploring possible wrongdoing in Flynn’s disclosure of client payments tied to foreign governments including Turkey and Russia.

Flynn resigned in February. It was eventually discovered that he failed to disclose the nature of his communications with Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to Washington.

Investigators have also reported that Flynn may have broken the law when he omitted a $45,000 paid appearance fee he collected for a television stint in Moscow promoting Russia Today, a Russian government-funded news outlet.

Kelner has previously defended Flynn, saying that his client is not hiding anything and that, in fact, he briefed the Defense Intelligence Agency both before and after his trip to Russia.</s>Washington (CNN)Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas to associates of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn seeking business records, as part of the ongoing probe of Russian meddling in last year's election, according to people familiar with the matter. CNN learned of the subpoenas hours before President Donald Trump fired FBI director James Comey.

The subpoenas represent the first sign of a significant escalation of activity in the FBI's broader investigation begun last July into possible ties between Trump campaign associates and Russia.

 The subpoenas issued in recent weeks by the US Attorney's Office in Alexandria, Virginia, were received by associates who worked with Flynn on contracts after he was forced out as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014, according to the people familiar with the investigation.

 Robert Kelner, an attorney for Flynn, declined to comment. The US Attorney's Office in Alexandria, the Justice Department and the FBI also declined to comment.

Investigators have been looking into possible wrongdoing in how Flynn handled disclosures about payments from clients tied to foreign governments including Russia and Turkey, US officials briefed on the matter have told CNN.

 The Flynn inquiry is one piece of the broader investigation, which FBI Director James Comey testified in a Senate hearing last week is led jointly by the Alexandria US Attorney's Office and the Justice Department's National Security Division.</s>Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas seeking business records from people who worked with former U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn when he was a private citizen, CNN reported on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON: Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas seeking business records from people who worked with former U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn when he was a private citizen, CNN reported on Tuesday.

Citing people familiar with the matter, CNN said the subpoenas were issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Alexandria, Virginia. They targeted people who worked with Flynn on contracts after he was pushed out of his job as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014, it reported.

Flynn later joined the Trump campaign but was fired as the White House national security adviser by President Donald Trump in February after he failed to tell the truth about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States.

Flynn's attorney, Robert Kelner, did not respond immediately to a request for comment. A Justice Department spokeswoman said the department does not comment on the existence of ongoing investigations.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into allegations Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election to benefit Trump, as well as possible links to the Trump campaign.

Russia has repeatedly denied interfering in the U.S. election and the Trump administration denies allegations of collusion with Russia.

Trump fired FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday, saying he had lost confidence in Comey over his handling of an election-year email scandal involving then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Flynn, a retired general, has emerged as a central figure in the Russian probes.

Investigators have been looking into whether Flynn properly disclosed payments from clients with links to foreign governments, including Russia and Turkey, CNN said.</s>In a joint statement Wednesday evening, Senator Richard Burr (R-North Carolina), the committee chairman, and Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia), the vice-chair, stated that the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has issued a subpoena for Flynn.The subpoena requests documents that might be relevant to the investigation into Russia's alleged meddling in the US elections in 2016.Committee member Senator James Lankford (R-Oklahoma) told Fox News that the panel has subpoenaed "a large number of documents." Lankford also told CNN that Flynn was given until May 9 to voluntarily turn over the documents, but "his counsel advised him not to.""We told him that's not an option. We made a request for documents and he didn't turn them over voluntarily so,Lankford said. "We expect the documents to be there and we expect to meet with him."In March, Flynn's lawyer, Robert Kelner, requested "assurances against unfair prosecution" in exchange for Flynn giving testimony to the panel.according to a report from CNN . The report says that the US Attorney's Office in Alexandria, Virginia,In March, Flynn's lobbying firm registered as a foreign agent declaring they were paid at least $530,000 for lobbying work that may have benefited the Turkish government.</s>The Senate intelligence committee has subpoenaed former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn for documents related to the panel's investigation into Russia's election meddling.

Sen. Richard Burr, the Republican chairman, and Sen. Mark Warner, the committee's Democratic vice chairman, say the panel had first requested the documents from Flynn on April 28. They say Flynn's lawyer declined to cooperate with the request.

Flynn was fired by Trump after less than a month on the job. The White House said he misled Vice President Mike Pence and other top officials about his communications with Russia's ambassador to the United States.

Flynn's Russia ties are also being scrutinized by the FBI as it investigates whether Trump's campaign was involved in Russia's election interference.</s>WASHINGTON (AP) — Targeted in widening investigations of his foreign entanglements, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, is at odds with his former Turkish client over two unusual payments totaling $80,000 that Flynn’s firm sent back last year to the client. The disagreement points to inconsistencies in Flynn’s accounts to the U.S. government about his work for foreign interests.

Flynn’s company, Flynn Intel Group, told the Justice Department in March that the two $40,000 payments were consulting fees for unspecified work. But Turkish businessman Ekim Alptekin has told The Associated Press that the payments from Flynn’s firm were refunds for unperformed lobbying.

The difference matters because Flynn’s foreign business relationships and the veracity of his disclosures are under scrutiny by congressional, military and intelligence inquiries. The Senate intelligence committee said late Wednesday it issued a subpoena to compel Flynn to turn over documents related to its investigation into Russian interference with the 2016 election. Other congressional committees and the Pentagon’s inspector general are separately examining whether Flynn was fully forthcoming about his foreign contacts and earnings from organizations linked to the governments of Russia and Turkey. His firm’s Turkish work occurred while he was a top Trump campaign adviser.

Earlier in the week, on Monday, former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates told senators that Flynn’s misstatements about his contacts with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. raised concerns that he could be targeted for blackmail. Yates also cited the possibility that Flynn could have broken federal law by operating as a paid foreign agent for the Turkish client without U.S. government permission.

The Senate intelligence committee said it had previously asked Flynn on April 28 to voluntarily turn over the records it requested, and Flynn declined.

The retired Army lieutenant general and former chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency formally told the Justice Department in March that his now-defunct Flynn Intel Group was paid $530,000 for operating as a foreign agent for Alptekin’s firm, Inovo BV, and performing work that could have benefited the Turkish government. That filing — prompted by Justice Department pressure — came just weeks after Trump fired Flynn from his national security post. The president has said he made the decision after it became clear Flynn had misled Vice President Mike Pence about conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S.

The paperwork Flynn filed with the Justice Department raised new questions because it cited two consulting payments back to Alptekin’s company without specifying what, if any, work was performed.

Alptekin told The Associated Press in an email that the payments were refunds guided by a verbal agreement he worked out last year with Flynn Intel that set out how much Flynn’s firm was to receive each month for lobbying and other contractual work. When Alptekin didn’t see any lobbying work, he said, he asked Flynn Intel to refund $80,000 to his firm.

But Flynn’s filing with the Justice Department did not disclose those discussions or the payment arrangements cited by Alptekin.

The U.S. foreign agent law requires disclosure of all written and verbal contracts and modifications. National security law experts said the failure to disclose such discussions could spur additional scrutiny of Flynn if Justice Department officials were to determine the missing material was legally significant.

The law “says disclosure has to include material fact and makes it a crime to omit such material,” said Stephen I. Vladeck, a professor and national security law expert at the University of Texas School of Law.

Flynn’s foreign agent filing included only one contract signed by Flynn and Alptekin. The contract did not mention any adjustments made verbally, Alptekin’s lobbying demands, arranging for allotting payments or any consulting role for Alptekin’s company, Inovo BV.

In the filing, Flynn’s firm said the description of each payment back to Inovo as a “consultancy fee” came from the firm’s accounting records. Similar “consultancy fee” entries described payments to other members of the team hired for the work.

Asked about the discrepancies between Alptekin’s statements and the filing, Flynn’s attorney, Robert Kelner, said: “We’ll stick with what’s in the filing.” Kelner declined to answer additional questions from the AP about the payment arrangement.

In a brief statement Tuesday, Alptekin again said the payments to his firm from Flynn Intel were refunds for unperformed work. Alptekin also suggested that Flynn Intel’s description of the payments as consulting fees was an accounting error.

In Monday’s Senate hearing, Yates told Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., that Flynn could face legal trouble for failing to disclose his foreign work and payments properly. Leaders of a bipartisan House inquiry into Flynn’s foreign earnings have said they found no evidence that Flynn asked for permission from the Defense Department or the State Department to accept foreign payments, though they said any likely penalty for that violation would be fines, not prosecution. The Defense Department’s inspector general is investigating.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who leads the inquiry as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told the AP he had not looked into Flynn’s foreign agent disclosures but he “would urge the Justice Department to pursue that if they feel it’s necessary.” The panel’s senior Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, added that Flynn’s “work on behalf of Turkey while a top national security adviser for President Trump’s campaign raises grave questions.”

Flynn Intel’s work last year centered on developing evidence for a criminal case against Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish Muslim cleric living in Pennsylvania. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants Gulen extradited because he believes Gulen inspired last year’s attempted coup against him. The Obama administration rebuffed Turkey’s extradition requests.

It’s unclear whether the Trump administration will change that stance, though U.S.-Turkish relations have warmed under Trump, who congratulated Erdogan after a recent referendum expanded his presidential powers. International monitors called the referendum an undemocratic power grab.

Alptekin said he disagrees with Flynn Intel’s decision to register with the Justice Department as a foreign agent because he says the work wasn’t orchestrated by the Turkish government and he doesn’t have any ties to Erdogan’s administration. But Alptekin serves on an economic committee overseen by Turkey’s finance ministry. In its Justice Department filing, Flynn Intel also disclosed that Alptekin had consulted with Turkish government officials about the Gulen-related work.

Flynn and Alptekin have yet to provide full and consistent explanations.

Alptekin initially said last fall that his company paid only tens of thousands of dollars, but later acknowledged that the $530,000 in payments listed in Flynn’s foreign agent filing was correct.

Alptekin also told the AP that his firm and Flynn Intel had agreed verbally in August to divide monthly $200,000 installments for lobbying, public relations, research and other work. That arrangement specified Flynn’s firm would be paid $40,000 a month for lobbying and $15,000 a month for public relations, Alptekin said.

Alptekin justified the two $40,000 payments— one in September and the other in October— as refunds, saying he saw no evidence that Flynn Intel performed any lobbying.

But Flynn’s firm reported lobbying activity. It registered with Congress as a lobbyist in September, midway through the contract. And Flynn Intel and a contracted public relations firm disclosed in their paperwork with the Justice Department that it had lobbied a House committee and an Arkansas state official.</s>A day after federal prosecutors formally subpoenaed the associates of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, the Senate Intelligence Committee has officially subpoenaed Flynn himself on Wednesday, as the investigation into Russia’s involvement in the election intensifies.



NBC News reports that the Senate Intelligence Committee initially requested that Flynn turn over any documents relevant to their investigation into Russia’s interference in the election on April 28, but Flynn denied the request. For those keeping track of such things, NBC notes that this is the first time the joint committee has used its subpoena power since the investigation into the September 11 attacks and the first time it’s subpoenaed documents since the 1970s.

Flynn, as we’re all well aware by now, is an extremely suspicious character in this entire Russia mess. A month before the Senate requested the documents, Flynn offered to testify in exchange for immunity — not an admission of guilt mind you, but curious just the same—but that request was denied by the committee a day later. Flynn’s lawyers offered no new comment at the time of this news, ABC reports, but referred back to their original statement in March.

“General Flynn has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit,” it begins. “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.”

So he still has a story that he’s going to tell us all some day, but only when the time is right and the circumstances permit? Seems like that time is coming ‘round the mountain, sooner than he’d like to admit.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Alexandria, Virginia, through U.S. Attorney Dana Boente, issues subpoenas to former National Security Advisor Michael T. Flynn to assess the extent of his ties to Russia.