Trump urges former adviser Flynn to cut immunity deal

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump urged his former national security adviser to strike an immunity deal Friday, even as congressional investigators rebuffed Michael Flynn’s offer of cooperation in exchange for protection from prosecution.

Trump tweeted that Flynn, the adviser he fired in February, should ask for immunity because he’s facing “a witch hunt.”

The White House also tried to quell a firestorm over its role in helping a top Republican lawmaker see secret intelligence reports. Rep. Adam Schiff went to the White House to view materials that he said were “precisely the same” as what House intelligence committee chairman Devin Nunes viewed there last week.

“The White House has yet to explain why senior White House staff apparently shared these materials with but one member,” said Schiff, who met with Trump for about 10 minutes while he was at the White House.

The congressional investigations into Russian election interference and the Trump campaign’s possible Russian ties have become a near-daily distraction for a new administration struggling to find its footing. Trump has vigorously denied that his campaign coordinated with Russia during the election.

The president weighed in on Flynn the day after the ousted national security adviser’s attorney confirmed the immunity discussions with intelligence committees in both the Senate and House that are investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election.