Michael Flynn, the former security adviser to former President Donald Trump, has sued the congressional committee investigating the storming of the US Capitol on January 6 this year. He hopes this will prevent the committee from gaining access to his telephone data.
Flynn argues that the subpoena previously issued against him is too broad in scope, targeting him for constitutionally protected statements he made as a private individual.
The House of Representatives Commission of Inquiry subpoenaed him and other Trump supporters in November to obtain information about a “command centre” they were attempting to contest the election results. Nevertheless, Trump still falsely maintains that he lost the presidential election to Joe Biden because of widespread election fraud.
Other Trump supporters subpoenaed by the committee have also gone to court to avoid being heard. Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist and founder of the right-wing website Infowars, filed a similar case on Monday.
Flynn has previously pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with the former Russian ambassador. He was indicted at the time in an investigation by US special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian influence on Trump’s 2016 election. Trump pardoned Flynn just before his resignation.