The breaking story is this. NBC News:
The Senate Intelligence Committee turned down the request by former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's lawyer for a grant of immunity in exchange for his testimony, a senior congressional official with direct knowledge told NBC News.
The official said Flynn's lawyer was told it was "wildly preliminary" and that immunity was "not on the table" at the moment.
Flynn's lawyer also conveyed the offer to the Justice Department, the official said.
The MSNBC Panel reacted without much panic. Former NSA staffer Derek Chollet said it succinctly: "It is too soon. The committee has to do more investigative work. They need documents. They need to talk to lower level officials before they think of giving immunity to someone as senior as Mike Flynn."
And New York Times reporter David Leonhardt has given up on House Republicans:
DAVID LEANHARDT, NEW YORK TIMES: I expect this White House to mislead and knowingly lie. The president has a long record of doing that. I can't believe we're at that point, in which the President of the United States lies a lot. I would expect that Congress would have the ability to act as a co-equal branch of government and say, look, we don't work for the president. We work for Congress. The Constitution enshrines our authority here. And I still am hopeful the Senate will do that. We're seeing none of that from the House Republicans. It is as if they work for Sean Spicer's office.
Yet.... in a fit of "oh really?" even Jason Chaffetz weighed in on the side of "what are they thinking over in that Trump White House?" (I expect his disastrous Town Hall has put him on his toes.)
Asked if Flynn’s request for immunity indicated that he may be guilty of something, Chaffetz conceded that “it doesn’t look good.”
“If all of a sudden you have somebody stand up and say, ‘Hey, I need immunity,’ you know, it kinda raises your eyebrows,” he said. “Even General Flynn back in the day said and used that same thing against Hillary Clinton. So, you know, it comes around to bite you, and I just think they need to get to the facts.”
“There are some swirling things that need to be answered,” he added.
