‘Gross Abuse Of Power’: Federal Court Review Of Flynn Case Criticizes Justice Department

TOPLINE

A third party attorney appointed by a federal court in Washington, D.C., said Wednesday that the Justice Department failed to prosecute the case involving former national security adviser Michael Flynn with a “gross abuse of prosecutorial power” by “attempting to provide special treatment to a favored friend and political ally of the President of the United States.”

KEY FACTS

Crucial Quote

“The facts surrounding the filing of the Government’s motion constitute clear evidence of gross prosecutorial abuse. They reveal an unconvincing effort to disguise as legitimate a decision to dismiss that is based solely on the fact that Flynn is a political ally of President Trump,” wrote Gleeson in the brief.

Key Background

In early May the Justice Department dropped its case against former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn—though Flynn had twice pleaded guilty to charges—saying the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation of Flynn was “untethered” and “unjustified.” This happened after a review from an outside prosecutor—who was assigned by Attorney General William Barr—recommended that the Justice Department drop Flynn’s case. 

Flynn pleaded guilty in Robert Mueller’s 2018 investigation, admitting that he lied to the FBI about conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak regarding election interference. In the early months of 2020, Flynn’s attorney’s alleged the FBI had mishandled the case, requesting to revoke Flynn’s guilty plea—which was denied by the judge. 

Further Reading

Justice Department Drops Michael Flynn Case (Forbes)

Flynn dismissal a surprise? AG Barr in sync with Trump (Associated Press)

‘Everything about this is irregular’: Ex-judge tapped to review Flynn case blasts Trump DOJ (Politico)

Outside Lawyer Recommends Sentencing Michael Flynn on Existing Charge, Criticizes Justice Department Conduct (Wall Street Journal)