Michael Flynn loses bid to block Jan. 6 subpoena

Michael Flynn lost his bid Wednesday, to block subpoenas filed by the Jan. 6 committee, after a federal judge denied his request for a temporary restraining order.

On Tuesday, Flynn sued to block the release of the subpoenas, which would have compelled him to hand over documents, including phone records, and to testify in front of the committee.

Judge Mary Scriven denied requests made by Flynn’s lawyers in U.S. District Court in Tampa. She cited both a lack of urgency and a failure by attorneys to follow correct procedures as the reasons behind her decision.

Scriven said the former national security adviser to the Trump administration, can make another attempt but that currently “there is no basis to conclude that Flynn will face immediate and irreparable harm,” according to NBC, which is the legal threshold to grant the temporary restraining order.

She also noted there was no set date in court records that showed when Flynn was expected to testify in front of the committee, reducing any urgency.

Flynn’s attorneys argued that the committee does not have the legal authority to request the records, in part because he was a private citizen at the time of the riots.

The committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol subpoenaed Flynn in November, seeking his records and ordering him to testify.

Currently, 11 other people that the committee has subpoenaed for phone or other records, have sued to block the move.

Flynn twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during the bureau’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election but later rescinded his plea and was pardoned by Trump last November.

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