OTTAWA — Right-wing influencer Lauren Chen stayed mum on Tuesday as she appeared virtually before a House of Commons committee studying Russian political interference in Canada.

Chen said in a terse opening statement that she wasn’t willing to answer the committee’s questions while possibly subject to a criminal investigation in the United States.

“After consulting with counsel… I have concluded, on their advice, that answering questions from this committee could reasonably provide a, quote, ‘link in the chain’ toward a possible indictment against me,” Chen told the committee.