Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, on Sunday said that he is approaching former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s reported request for an immunity deal with “a very healthy skepticism.”
“I think we start out with a very healthy skepticism,” Schiff said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Flynn’s lawyer requested an immunity deal for his client from the House and Senate Intelligence Committees and the FBI, though none of those have taken him up on the offer yet.
Schiff cited filings released by the White House on Saturday regarding Flynn’s recent financial history.
“General Flynn failed to report the money that he received from that RT propaganda arm of the Kremlin, as well as two other Russian entities,” Schiff said. “We also have requested the background security documents that General Flynn filled out, to find out whether he similarly failed to disclose work that he was doing as a financial agent of a foreign power or receiving financial support from a foreign power.”
Schiff cited “the issue of whether General Flynn made false statements that would also expose him to liability.”
Flynn resigned from President Donald Trump’s administration in February after reports revealed that he talked about Obama-era sanctions in a call with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak before Trump’s inauguration, a subject he previously denied discussing with the ambassador.
“So there is a lot we need to learn before entertaining anything like this,” Schiff said. “There is a lot we need to learn from other witnesses, but I start out, I think, with a very healthy skepticism.”
On #CNNSOTU @RepAdamSchiff says that there is “a lot we need to learn” before any Flynn immunity offer https://t.co/skGHxreugG
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) April 2, 2017
