General Michael Flynn – who served as Former President Donald Trump’s national security advisor – invoked his Fifth Amendment rights multiple times during his deposition before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol breach, refusing to answer if he believed the “violence was justified” or if he believed in the peaceful transition of power.
According to video of Flynn’s deposition played during a committee hearing on Tuesday, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) asked Gen. Flynn if he believed “the violence on January 6 was justified.”
Nearly two minutes later, David Warrington, Flynn’s attorney, asked the congresswoman to repeat the question. He then asked Cheney whether it was a legal question or a moral question.
“Do you believe the violence on January 6 was justified morally?” Cheney asked.
“I take the Fifth,” Flynn responded.
“Do you believe the violence on January 6 was justified legally?” she asked.
“Fifth,” Flynn replied again.
“General Flynn, do you believe in the peaceful transition of power in the United States of America?” Cheney asked.
“The Fifth,” he responded for the third time.
Warrington slammed the panel earlier this year for allegedly implying that “General Flynn’s decision to decline to answer their questions constituted an admission of guilt.”
“Most of the questions lacked any relation to the legislative purpose contained in House Resolution 503, and many were clearly sourced from fringe news and conspiracy websites and rumors. No American should have to endure such harassment by the legislative branch of our government,” Warrington claimed, according to CNN.
The committee decided to interview Gen. Flynn because he was reportedly at a December 2020 meeting in the Oval Office “during which participants discussed seizing voting machines, declaring a national emergency, invoking certain national security emergency powers, and continuing to spread the false message that the November 2020 election had been tainted by widespread fraud.”
Last year, Flynn sued the committee in an effort to block lawmakers from interviewing him or seizing records related to his activities prior to Jan. 6.
His complaint argued that during the Jan. 6 demonstration, Flynn was a private citizen who doubted the legitimacy of the 2020 election, which is not against the law.
“It is not a crime to hold such beliefs, regardless of whether they are correct or mistaken, to discuss them with others, to associate with those who share the same belief, or to ask the government to address such political concerns,” the filing continued.
The court ultimately ruled against him, forcing to him to testify before the committee.