Former national security advisor Michael Flynn announced his intention to invoke his Fifth Amendment right. Obama administration officials have done the same 8 times.
8 Times Obama Administration Officials ‘Plead The Fifth’ In High Profile Scandals
- Jeff Neely, the former Pacific Rim regional commissioner for the General Services Administration, plead the fifth on April 16, 2012 when Congress asked him to testify about overly-lavish spending on GSA conferences. He was eventually sentenced to prison for fraud anyway.
- John Beale, a former official at the EPA, plead the fifth on October 1, 2013 when Congress probed into Beale’s theft of nearly $900,000 worth of salaries and bonuses from his own agency.
- John Sepulveda, a former VA official, plead the fifth on October 30, 2013 after Congress subpoenaed him to testify as to why the department spent $6 million on conferences in Florida.
- Diana Rubens and Kimberly Graves, two senior officials in the Department of Veterans Affairs, each plead the fifth before Congress on November 2, 2015 when asked to testify about $400,000 they had allegedly milked out of a VA relocation expense program. They were eventually given back their jobs.
- Greg Roseman, a deputy director of the IRS, plead the fifth on June 26, 2013, after Congress asked him to testify about why the largest contract in IRS history was awarded to a close friend of his.
- Patrick Cunningham, chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona, plead the fifth when Congress asked him to testify about Operation Fast and Furious, which trafficked more than 2,000 guns along the U.S.-Mexico border.
- Lois Lerner, an IRS director in charge of tax-exemptions, plead the fifth numerous times during Congress’ investigation into the IRS’ targeting of conservative groups.
- Loretta Lynch, Attorney General Loretta Lynch invoked her Fifth Amendment protection not to incriminate herself over the Obama administration’s transfer of money to Iran.
