House Committee subpoenas ex-NSA, Trump’s lawyer

Washington, June 1 (IANS) The House Intelligence Committee issued subpoenas to former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and President Donald Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen, as part of the probe into Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 election.

The subpoenas issued on Wednesday seek to obtain the testimony of the two men as well as their business documents, Efe news reported.

"As part of our ongoing investigation into Russian active measures during the 2016 campaign, today (Wednesday) we approved subpoenas for several individuals for testimony, personal documents and business records," said Representatives Mike Conaway and Adam Schiff - the Republican and Democrat, respectively, leading the House investigation - in a statement.

"We hope and expect that anyone called to testify or provide documents will comply with that request, so that we may gain all the information within the scope of our investigation. We will continue to pursue this investigation wherever the facts may lead," they added.

The subpoenas comes a day after Cohen said that he would not cooperate with congressional investigators after several unofficial attempts by senators and congressmen to obtain his cooperation.

The attorney confirmed on Tuesday that investigators from the House and Senate asked him to provide information and testimony on any contacts he had with people linked to the Russian government, but he refused that request.

Cohen said he "declined the invitation to participate, as the request was poorly phrased, overly broad, and not capable of being answered," in an e-mail to ABC.

The Senate Intelligence Committee voted unanimously on May 25 to authorise its chairman, Republican Senator Richard Burr, and its top-ranking Democratic, Mark Warner, to issue subpoenas that would force the attorney to respond to their demands.

While media outlets have been focusing on the Russian contacts pursued by Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, there are few people closer to the President than his personal attorney, who has advised him for years.

After the 2016 presidential campaign, Cohen left the Trump Organisation to become the president's personal lawyer, a post he still occupies.

Flynn, who was forced to resign in mid-February for having hidden information about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to Washington, Sergei Kislyak, during the presidential transition, initially refused to cooperate with the Senate but has now agreed to turn over the requested documents.

In addition, lawmakers expect former FBI Director James Comey to appear before them sometime in the coming weeks to give testimony in a public congressional hearing.

His testimony will be one of the most anticipated aspects of the Russia investigation given that Comey allegedly reported in internal memos that Trump had asked him to end his investigation into Flynn's contacts with Russian officials.