Mr Flynn’s lawsuit is the latest in a flood of litigation by targets of the committee seeking to prevent it from enforcing its subpoenas for testimony or communications.

Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist and founder of the right-wing website Infowars, filed a similar case on Monday.

Steve Bannon, another former Trump adviser, has been indicted for refusing to testify to Congress about the January 6 attack. He was charged with two counts of contempt in November.

Mr Flynn was charged as part of former US Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian influence on the 2016 US presidential election won by Trump.

A retired Army general, Mr Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about interactions he had with Russia’s ambassador to the United States in January 2017. 

He later sought to withdraw the plea, arguing that prosecutors duped him into a plea agreement. Mr Trump later pardoned him.