A federal judge Wednesday denied Michael Flynn’s lawsuit seeking to block the House Jan. 6 committee from compelling him to testify or produce documents.
Flynn, who briefly served as national security adviser to then-President Donald Trump, filed the request for a restraining order Tuesday because he claimed the committee’s subpoenas lacked a “legislative purpose” and violated his right to free speech and his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Complying with the subpoenas, first issued in November, would cause Flynn to be “irreparably and illegally coerced to produce information and testimony in violation of the law and his constitutional rights,” his defense team claimed.
The committee told Flynn in a letter last month that they want to talk to him about a meeting he had with Trump and other officials in December 2020, during which “participants discussed seizing voting machines, declaring a national emergency, invoking certain national security emergency powers, and continuing to spread the message that the November 2020 election had been tainted by widespread fraud.”
There are no reports that U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven laughed Flynn’s restraining order request out of the courtroom, but her comments highlighted its absurdity nonetheless.
She said the committee’s requested dates for him to provide documents and a deposition had been postponed, and no new dates have been set for either. For that reason, “there is no basis to conclude that Flynn will face immediate and irreparable harm,” she said. What’s more, his lawyers didn’t follow proper procedure in filing the restraining order, dooming its prospects, she added.
In a statement to CNN, Flynn’s attorney left the door open to additional legal action in the future:
[T]he Court acknowledged that should the Select Committee take actions that would cause an immediate harm to General Flynn, such as expediting the response dates for document requests from Flynn or for the phone company subpoenas, a renewed motion for TRO may be appropriate.
The lawyer’s statement reveals just how sensitive Flynn has become to the congressional inquiry, which has already netted more than 250 interviews. He has no way of knowing how far and how deep the investigation has reached, so he and his legal team are resorting to stonewalling.
Related posts:
Newsom gives conservatives a taste of their own medicine White nationalists held a buffoonish rally — but there’s nothing funny about it Rep. Matt Gaetz, possible sex trafficker, vows to investigate his investigators Head over to The ReidOut Blog for more.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog. Recommended
