The move comes after the president and his allies stepped up their assault on the legal case against the former national security adviser.
The Justice Department has abandoned its prosecution of President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, throwing in the towel on one of the most prominent cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about his dealings with the Russian ambassador to the U.S.
But department officials, including Attorney General William Barr, concluded in light of recently disclosed evidence that the FBI’s questioning of him just four days after Trump’s inauguration lacked a proper investigative basis.
……..
The bombshell court filing asking U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan to dismiss the case bore the signature of only one prosecutor: U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Timothy Shea, a former Barr aide named to the post in January.
Moments before Shea’s filing, the top prosecutor in the Flynn case withdrew abruptly and without explanation. Brandon Van Grack, who served as one of special counsel Robert Mueller’s top lawyers and remained on the Flynn case even after Mueller’s office closed down, signaled his exit from the case in a terse, one-sentence filing with U.S. Sullivan.
In another sign of discord, the prosecutor who handled the matter alongside Van Grack over the past year — Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Ballentine — was also absent from the filing seeking to drop the case.
…….
In recent weeks and months, Flynn’s defense — headed by Texas lawyer Sidney Powell — had escalated its attacks on Van Grack personally, alleging that he withheld evidence favorable to Flynn in defiance of an order from Sullivan requiring the prosecution to turn over such material.
……..
The filings also did not indicate whether Van Grack was directed to withdraw from the Flynn case or elected to do so.
………
- Discussion
-
The DOJ has abandoned its prosecution of President Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, throwing in the towel on one of the most prominent cases brought by special counsel Robert Muellerhttps://t.co/doOxFk3Jhc
— POLITICO (@politico) May 7, 2020
Michael Flynn’s words when he pled guilty: "I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right.” https://t.co/vKpTrQicn7 pic.twitter.com/0eRzfN1jRV
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) May 7, 2020
So Trump doesn’t need to pardon Flynn; Barr dropped the charge to which Flynn had pled guilty. This is a foretaste of what a second Trump term would be like—the entire executive branch weaponized to help Trump’s friends, punish his enemies, and undermine the rule of law.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) May 7, 2020
The familiar stench of the Justice Department’s Michael Flynn decision https://t.co/xrrz6DeBzk
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) May 7, 2020
So a literal foreign agent takes a job as national security advisor, doesn't reveal it, and gets cleared by DOJ after a pressure campaign from the President? Banana republic shit.
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) May 7, 2020
Well, why the hell not. I mean, sweating out things like security clearances and shifty contacts with the Russians is for saps, not for friends of the Boss. https://t.co/9muR2qKeLR
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) May 7, 2020
Barr is an agent of corruption. https://t.co/1fK0zqYnIr
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) May 7, 2020
John Dean says that “Trump is Nixon on steroids & stilts.”
AG Barr is AG John Mitchell on steroids & stilts.
— Spiro Agnew’s Ghost, Noble Committee Vice Chair (@SpiroAgnewGhost) May 7, 2020
TRUMP: “I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI”
FLYNN: I plead guilty to lying to the FBI
FLYNN: I plead guilty to lying to the FBI
BARR: Let’s drop the charges https://t.co/BfV0ThvIx1
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) May 7, 2020
just infuriating. he pleaded guilty. he said he was guilty. the crime was serious. it endangered national security. there were other possible charges. completely revolting. https://t.co/Ojnc7VppJj
— Harry Litman (@harrylitman) May 7, 2020
Needless to say, this attempted dismissal of the Flynn case – AFTER FLYNN PLEADED GUILTY AND ADMITTED UNDER OATH HE IS GUILTY – has Trump’s fingerprints all over it. This move spells the death of the fairness and reliability of the Department of Justice.
— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) May 7, 2020
It is a staggering act of corruption. It is an assault on the rule of law. It is dangerous. https://t.co/TZK9zPWNKI
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) May 7, 2020
Bill Barr might want to study what happened to John Mitchell & read a copy of John Dean’s “Blind Ambition” to see what happens when someone does bad things on behalf of a criminal POTUS. John is a good man, Barr is not. When Barr leaves office he will have a lot of problems.
— Spiro Agnew’s Ghost, Noble Committee Vice Chair (@SpiroAgnewGhost) May 7, 2020
The DOJ filing here is absurd and contradicts the Department's long standing positions. There is no reasonable explanation here other than that Bill Barr is seeking to undo the Mueller investigation on behalf of Trump while the world is distracted by a deadly global pandemic.
— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) May 7, 2020
“Prosecutors said FBI agents gave Flynn multiple opportunities to correct his false statements during the interview. Flynn testified in 2018 that he knew it was a crime when he lied to the FBI.”
— Prison Mike (@PrisonMScott) May 7, 2020
Right. Because "innocent" people always plead guilty… #Flynn #Trump https://t.co/0BJCSFLVwe
— Andy Ostroy (@AndyOstroy) May 7, 2020
Barr is loyal to Trump. If anyone thinks Barr acted on his own in dropping the charges, I have some prime swamp land for sale — cheap.
I suppose Stone and Manafort are next. When you’re a friend of Trump’s, you don’t have to pay for your crimes.
Top Democrat demands "immediate explanation" from Barr after Flynn case dropped https://t.co/mbcjRd2DwQ pic.twitter.com/d4BHdSUnaX
— The Hill (@thehill) May 8, 2020
Comey, McCabe slams Justice for dropping Flynn case: "Pure politics designed to please" Trump https://t.co/YWbRbAIlPD pic.twitter.com/ECzwLC4MAe
— The Hill (@thehill) May 7, 2020
I have been in and around DOJ since 1983. I have never seen a case dropped after someone has pled guilty and the underlying facts demonstrate beyond any shadow of a doubt he is guilty. This is simply a pardon by another name. A black day in DOJ history.https://t.co/UkfdNbY7Ld
— Michael R. Bromwich (@mrbromwich) May 7, 2020
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.