Federal appeals court skeptical of Michael Flynn's effort to immediately dismiss criminal charge

Source: Politico | August 11, 2020 | Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney

If the appeals court rules against Flynn, it’s likely to create a vivid pre-election spectacle.

A federal appeals court appears poised to block an effort by former national security adviser Michael Flynn to immediately dismiss the criminal charge against him, raising the specter that the politically explosive case could continue to make headlines in the lead-up to the Nov. 3 election.

The court, in an unusual full-bench session on Tuesday that ran to almost four hours, sounded sharply skeptical about arguments by Flynn’s attorney and the Justice Department that U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan abused his authority by scheduling a hearing on efforts to drop the case, which came despite Flynn’s pleading guilty to lying to the FBI and later reaffirming his plea.

If the appeals court rules against Flynn, the decision could create a vivid pre-election spectacle through a hearing that could draw attention both to Flynn’s conduct and the claims of abuse of power he has leveled at FBI agents and prosecutors — allegations echoed often by President Donald Trump. It could also crimp the president’s ability to turn to Flynn as a pre-election surrogate.

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