US District Judge Emmet Sullivan has intervened in the Michael Flynn case, slowing the process involved in dropping his case. The Department of Justice announced last week that it was dropping charges against Flynn. This came following the release of memos that Flynn’s lawyers claim prove the FBI entrapped him.
Michael Flynn, former national security advisor to Donald Trump, pled guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about having contacts with Russia. Flynn was accused by the FBI of conducting government activities with a Russian foreign dignitary, before Trump was sworn into office. Under the Hatch Act, what Flynn pled guilty to was illegal.
Flynn’s defense has worked overtime to spin FBI documents into evidence of entrapment. Memos somehow obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation include correspondence among investigators. It’s unclear if the memos were obtained legally or through a breach, perhaps of a cloud data security program. A conversation in which personnel question at what point they should remind Flynn that it is illegal to lie to the FBI was of particular interest to the defense.
Following the publication of this material, the DOJ swiftly moved to drop the case against Flynn. The former national security advisor is a political ally of the president’s, and Trump has been adamant in his defense of Flynn. The president has referred to Flynn’s treatment by the FBI as “unfair” and “rigged,” despite Flynn’s own admission of guilt in 2017.
A federal judge, Emmet Sullivan, has slowed the process of dropping Flynn’s case. Judge Sullivan has ruled that the case could be of interest for political reasons. Thus, he wants to give a window for third parties to weigh in on the case. Several amicus briefs were filed regarding Flynn’s case after news broke that the DOJ planned to drop charges.
What this means is that the nature of the case could pertain to matters that impact third parties. Judge Sullivan wrote that he felt third parties should get an opportunity to argue against the DOJ’s decision. In his brief, Judge Sullivan notes that “a criminal proceeding is not a free for all.”
Sidney Powell, defense attorney for Flynn, argued against Judge Sullivan’s decision. Powell wrote that there is “no place for third parties to meddle in the dispute, and certainly not to usurp the role of the government counsel”. This sets the stage for what is sure to be a heated legal battle over Flynn’s fate.
