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Home Front: Politix
Appeals court orders judge to dismiss Flynn charges
2020-06-24
Hacks in a Robe Emmet Sullivan and Gleeson get a kick in the teeth.
Could this be a response the earlier report that additional exculpatory notes from Peter Strzok had been found, or are they just frosting on this humiliation cake?
[The Hill] A federal appeals court on Wednesday ordered a judge to grant the Department of Justice's (DOJ) unusual move to drop charges against former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

A three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals approved Flynn's petition to intervene in the case after a district court judge had tapped an outside counsel to argue against the DOJ's move.

The panel ruled 2-1, with two Republican-appointed judges carrying the majority, that U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan overstepped his authority in second-guessing the prosecutors' decision.

"In this case, the district court's actions will result in specific harms to the exercise of the Executive Branch's exclusive prosecutorial power," Judge Neomi Rao, who was appointed to the circuit court by President Trump, wrote in the majority opinion.

"If evidence comes to light calling into question the integrity or purpose of an underlying criminal investigation, the Executive Branch must have the authority to decide that further prosecution is not in the interest of justice," Rao added.

Judge Robert Wilkins, an Obama appointee, dissented from the decision, saying he would grant Sullivan the space to explore the DOJ's request for dismissal.

"It is a great irony that, in finding the District Court to have exceeded its jurisdiction, this Court so grievously oversteps its own," Wilkins wrote in his dissent. "This appears to be the first time that we have issued a writ of mandamus to compel a district court to rule in a particular manner on a motion without first giving the lower court a reasonable opportunity to issue its own ruling."

An attorney representing Sullivan before the circuit court did not immediately respond when asked for comment. Flynn's attorney also did not immediately respond when asked for comment.

The DOJ stunned observers last month when it dropped its charge that Flynn had lied to the FBI about his conversations with a Russian diplomat in late 2016. The move came after the former Trump adviser had pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the special counsel's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Instead of rubber-stamping the motion, Sullivan appointed an outside counsel, former federal judge John Gleeson, to outline a counter-argument to the DOJ's move. Gleeson argued earlier this month that Sullivan should reject the DOJ's motion and accused Flynn of perjury in reversing his earlier guilty plea.

Gleeson did not immediately respond when asked for comment.

Trump, who has repeatedly derided probes into officials from his administration as politically motivated, promptly cheered Wednesday's development on Twitter.
Related:
Emmet Sullivan: 2020-06-12 US appeals court skeptical of bid by ex-Trump adviser to end criminal case
Emmet Sullivan: 2020-06-03 Judge Sullivan Delivers Response in Flynn Case and It’s Something
Emmet Sullivan: 2020-05-31 James Howard Kunstler - 'The Unspooling'
Related:
John Gleeson: 2020-06-11 Ex-judge urges court to sentence Michael Flynn despite DOJ bid to drop case
John Gleeson: 2020-05-25 Re: Sullivan - What the Media will not ask
John Gleeson: 2020-05-23 So, Is That How the Special Counsel Office Avoided Turning Over the FBI's 302 Report to Flynn's Lawyers?
Posted by:Frank G

#19  It's becoming more and more obvious that the biggest mistake this nation ever made was to allow the Democrat Party to continue to exist after the Civil War. They've been fighting to overturn the results ever since. Maybe it's time to correct the error.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2020-06-24 22:32  

#18  ^ would be nice, but Bar Assoc. cover for each other...
Posted by: Frank G   2020-06-24 20:01  

#17  In addition, go after their law licences for trying to frame Flynn.
Posted by: JohnQC   2020-06-24 17:52  

#16  What Frank #8 said.
Posted by: JohnQC   2020-06-24 17:50  

#15  It ain't over 'til it's over:

The decision on Wednesday can be appealed by Sullivan. Or another judge on the D.C. Circuit can call for a vote on whether the case should be reheard, in which case the decision will be vacated and a wider panel of judges will preside over it.
Posted by: charger   2020-06-24 16:38  

#14  House hearing explodes as Dems, witnesses accuse Barr of choosing politics over justice
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-06-24 14:49  

#13  Dunno what race has to do with Flynn's case but there it is.

Their rules are that race has everything to do with everything.

And I keep hearing righties like Kurt Schlichter bloviating about how we need to apply the left's rules to the left. So...
Posted by: charger   2020-06-24 14:12  

#12  Hopefully we'll see him in a prominent position in Trump's next administration.
Posted by: Iblis   2020-06-24 13:37  

#11  The left just loves legal precedent (stare decisis) except when they don't.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-06-24 12:08  

#10  Wilkins, an African American Harvard Law School graduate, asked whether dismissing Flynn’s case would mean that judges must also dismiss cases against police if prosecutors offer racist reasons.

Dunno what race has to do with Flynn's case but there it is.
Posted by: Abu Uluque   2020-06-24 11:50  

#9  Flynn's lawyers also submitted a supplement to his agreeing with the government on dismissing his case. '

'Mr. Obama himself directed that 'the right people' investigate General Flynn,' according to the memo. According to the notes, Comey said said 'Flynn - Kislyak calls but appear legit.'

Next to 'VP' it states: 'Logan Act,' and 'I've been on the intel cmte for ten years and I never,' with no further notation.

'According to Strzok's notes, it appears that Vice President Biden personally raised the idea of the Logan Act. That became an admitted pretext to investigate General Flynn,' according to his lawyer's memo.
Posted by: Ebberens Glimp4613   2020-06-24 11:43  

#8  Now, Flynn needs to sue his former Defense Atty's for Malpractice/Conflicts of Interest and the DOJ for malicious prosecution, especially Van Grack
Posted by: Frank G   2020-06-24 11:43  

#7   they can refile the case

Will they make all the revealed exculpatory evidence hidden again?
Posted by: trailing wife   2020-06-24 11:27  

#6  leftists are already saying that after they capture the WH and consequently the DOJ, they can refile the case

Posted by: lord garth   2020-06-24 11:18  

#5  Ooops. I was referring to #2.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-06-24 11:14  

#4  ^Actually, just like Sullivan, he knows perfectly well which side of his bread is buttered.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-06-24 11:13  

#3  ...he's not clueless. He's an authoritarian who wants more unchecked power in the state, using procedure to mask injustice.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2020-06-24 11:13  

#2  Wilkins is clueless.
Posted by: Dino McCoy5459   2020-06-24 11:10  

#1  This is supported by Rule 27 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, "The Bitchslap Direct".
Posted by: Matt   2020-06-24 11:10  

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