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AP Exclusive: Justice Dept dropping Flynn's criminal case

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  texan1211  •  4 years ago  •  39 comments

By:   MICHAEL BALSAMO and E (MSN)

AP Exclusive: Justice Dept dropping Flynn's criminal case
The Justice Department on Thursday said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for the president and his supporters in attacking the FBI's Trump-Russia investigation.

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Thursday said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for the president and his supporters in attacking the FBI's Trump-Russia investigation.

The move is a stunning reversal for one of the signature cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. It comes even though prosecutors for the past three years have maintained that Flynn lied to the FBI in a January 2017 interview about his conversations with the Russian ambassador.

Flynn himself admitted as much, pleading guilty before asking to withdraw the plea, and became a key cooperator for Mueller the special counsel investigated ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.

In court documents being filed Thursday, the Justice Department said it is dropping the case "after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information." The documents were obtained by The Associated Press.

The Justice Department said it had concluded that Flynn's interview by the FBI was "untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn" and that the interview was "conducted without any legitimate investigative basis."

The U.S. attorney reviewing the Flynn case, Jeff Jensen, recommended dropping the case to Attorney General William Barr last week and formalized the recommendation in a document this week.

"Through the course of my review of General Flynn's case, I concluded the proper and just course was to dismiss the case," Jensen said in a statement. "I briefed Attorney General Barr on my findings, advised him on these conclusions, and he agreed."

The decision is certain to be embraced by Trump, who has relentlessly tweeted about the case and last week pronounced Flynn "exonerated," and to energize supporters who have taken up the retired Army lieutenant general as a cause. But it will also add to Democratic complaints that Attorney General William Barr is excessively loyal to the president, and could be a distraction for a Justice Department that for months has sought to focus on crimes arising from the coronavirus.

 The Department's action comes amid an internal review into the handling he case and an aggressive effort by Flynn's lawyers to challenge the basis for the prosecution. The lawyers cited newly disclosed FBI emails and notes last week to allege that Flynn was improperly trapped into lying when agents interviewed him at the White House days after Trump's inauguration. Though none of the documents appeared to undercut the central allegation that Flynn had lied to the FBI, Trump last week pronounced him "exonerated

The decision is the latest dramatic development in a years-old case full of twists and turns. In recent months, Flynn's attorneys have leveled a series of allegations about the FBI's actions and asked to withdraw his guilty plea. A judge has rejected most of the claims and not ruled on others, including the bid to revoke the plea.

The decision comes as Barr has increasingly challenged the Russia investigation, saying in a television interview last month that it was started "without any basis." In February, he overruled a decision by prosecutors in the case of Roger Stone, another former Trump adviser, in favor of a more lenient sentence for the longtime Trump friend.

Earlier this year, Barr appointed U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen of St. Louis to investigate the handling of Flynn's case. As part of that process, the Justice Department gave Flynn's attorneys a series of emails and notes, including one handwritten note from a senior FBI official that mapped out internal deliberations about the purpose of the Flynn interview: "What's our goal? Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?" the official wrote.

Other documents show that the FBI had been prepared weeks before its interview of Flynn to drop its investigation into whether he was acting at the direction of Russia. Later that month, though, as the White House insisted that Flynn had never discussed sanctions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, FBI officials grew more concerned by Flynn's conversations with the diplomat and what he had communicated to the White House. The investigation remained open, and agents went to visit him in the White House on Jan. 24, 2017.

Justice Department officials visited the White House two days later to warn officials that they feared that Flynn was compromised and vulnerable to blackmail by Russia because of his account of what was said on the call. White House officials waited several weeks to oust him from the job, saying they'd concluded that Flynn had lied to them.

Flynn pleaded guilty that December, among the first of the president's aides to admit guilt in Mueller's investigation. He acknowledged that he lied about his conversations with Kislyak, in which he encouraged Russia not to retaliate against the U.S. for sanctions imposed by the Obama administration over election interference.

He provided such extensive cooperation that prosecutors said he was entitled to a sentence of probation instead of prison.

As it turned out, that sentencing hearing was abruptly cut short after Flynn, facing a stern rebuke from U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, asked to be able to continue cooperating and earn credit toward a more lenient sentence.

Flynn's misgivings about the case were already on display when his then-attorneys pointedly noted in their sentencing memo that the FBI had not warned him that it was against the law to lie when they interviewed him at the White House in January 2017.

Since then, he has hired new attorneys — including Sidney Powell, a conservative commentator and outspoken critic of Mueller's investigation — who have taken a far more confrontational stance to the government. The lawyers have accused prosecutors of withholding documents and evidence they said was favorable to the case and have repeatedly noted that one of the two agents who interviewed Flynn was fired from the FBI for having sent derogatory text messages about Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign.

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Texan1211
Professor Principal
1  seeder  Texan1211    4 years ago

Certainly looks like the whole thing was nothing more than a set-up now, doesn't it?

 
 
 
JBB
Professor Principal
5  JBB    4 years ago

If you needed more proof of corruption within the Trump Justice Department...look no further. Flynn plead guilty FFS! History will note this as a new low...

 
 
 
Jeremy Retired in NC
Professor Expert
5.2  Jeremy Retired in NC  replied to  JBB @5    4 years ago
If you needed more proof of corruption within the Trump Justice Department

Yeah, try again.  It wasn't "Trump Justice Department" it was Obama's that kicked all this off. 

 
 
 
Dismayed Patriot
Professor Quiet
6  Dismayed Patriot    4 years ago

So he didn't lie? Oh, wait, no, he did lie and admitted to lying.

But, but some official in the justice department said "What's our goal? Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?"!!

So? That in no way exonerates him from the lie. How do you "get" someone to lie anyway? If I asked any of you conservatives reading this, do you think I or anyone else could "get you to lie"? Is there someway I could trick you into lying? Did the investigators use hypnosis? All that they did is what any good detective does when investigating a crime, they try and get their suspect to trip up in their story proving they have something to hide and that their actions were not above board and completely innocent. If what Flynn did was totally above board and completely innocent how and why would he feel the need to lie? How could he be backed into a corner where he felt lying to investigators was the only option?

Trump is a low IQ criminal, much like Al Capone, as are all his lackeys, Barr, Flynn, all of them, disgusting half witted bigoted thugs trying to run the government like their own personal mafia. Trump is nothing but a less intelligent Putin who is trying to copy their oligarch mobster government. This action by the justice department further proves their complicit corruption, it's just too bad there is no God to burn their putrid souls for eternity for they certainly have earned such an end. The fact that so many have had the wool pulled over their eyes and continue to support this criminal enterprise is what's truly shocking.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
6.2  Vic Eldred  replied to  Dismayed Patriot @6    4 years ago
So he didn't lie?

No he didn't. He admitted to a false charge to save his son.

The scum that framed him should be going to jail, but they probably never will.

If only I could run into them in a dark alley!

 
 
 
Dismayed Patriot
Professor Quiet
6.2.1  Dismayed Patriot  replied to  Vic Eldred @6.2    4 years ago
He admitted to a false charge to save his son.

? So he had to lie to save his son? What did the FBI have on his son? If you and your son were innocent of any wrongdoing, how exactly would someone force you to admit to false charges? I'm really curious as to what scenario you can fabricate to explain this all away as a perfectly innocent incident.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
6.2.2  Vic Eldred  replied to  Dismayed Patriot @6.2.1    4 years ago
So he had to lie to save his son?

They do it quite a bit. Another thing they do is is to go out and get two conflicting statements. Then they call the guy they want the liar and threaten the individual with prosecution. All that has to stop. Of course this is a bit different. This was part of a Coup to take down an American President and they couldn't keep up a secret investigation of the President with Flynn in charge of National Security. It was an outrageous act and they almost got away with it because when you plead guilty to perjury, you normally wave your right to exculpatory evidence. Once the AG looked into it the rouge agents were on the hook.

Why didn't Mueller know about this?

You better brace yourself for the release of info Adam Schiff has been sitting on. That's next!

 
 
 
Dismayed Patriot
Professor Quiet
6.2.5  Dismayed Patriot  replied to  Vic Eldred @6.2.2    4 years ago
They do it quite a bit.

So I guess you'll be able to easily list many more examples of this, right? Or even one?

This was part of a Coup

Really? I assume you have evidence to back that up, no?

Once the AG looked into it the rouge agents were on the hook.

Once partisan, hand picked Trump defenders "looked" at it  they decided it was all deep state coup conspiracy and Trump was completely innocent, like a newborn babe with cherubic wings. What a crock of horse shit that keep spilling out of your comments. It's disgusting.

You better brace yourself for the release of info Adam Schiff has been sitting on. That's next!

Yeah, and all those people you said were going to be arrested and convicted for investigating the great white dope are all behind bars now, right? I have yet to hear of anyone being indicted let alone being convicted of any crime. Why isn't Andy McCabe serving time by now? Why aren't all these supposed deep state actors behind bars by now? I won't bother bracing myself for any of your sad and ridiculous predictions to come true, it would be beyond pointless much like your constant defense of this inept moron in the oval office.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
6.2.6  Vic Eldred  replied to  XDm9mm @6.2.4    4 years ago

Correct. That was in effect the Weissmann investigation.   Weissmann being the Roy Cohn of our time.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
6.2.7  Vic Eldred  replied to  Dismayed Patriot @6.2.5    4 years ago
I assume you have evidence to back that up, no?

You've been given evidence. Today you should have learned that Michael Flynn was framed. By now you should have known that Carter Page's rights were violated. You should also know that the fake Steele Dossier was fraudulently used by the FBI to get FISA warrants. You should also know that an FBI lawyer deleted perrtinent information from those applications. You should also know that there was no justification for the Mueller investigation. You should know that James Comey and Andrew McCabe leaked sometimes classified and many times false info to the anti-Trump media. You should also know that Comey (Comey lied to the President & to Congress) and McCabe (McCabe lied to the FBI)lied, yet no charges have been filed. 

You should know all of that at the very least, but you still show up every day saying "wheres the evidence." 


Yeah, and all those people you said were going to be arrested and convicted for investigating the great white dope are all behind bars now, right?

That's a lie. They should be behind bars, but I know better. 

BTW it's not about me - it's about a hate filled ideology. Hopefully you'll open your eyes.

 
 
 
XXJefferson51
Senior Guide
7  XXJefferson51    4 years ago

A great day for true justice and a great day for America 

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
8  Vic Eldred    4 years ago

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"The order also requires the government to submit favorable defense evidence to the court, including possible "impeachment evidence" that could undermine witnesses, even if the government believes the evidence “not to be material.” (Sullivan still has the ultimate authority over what to do with Flynn's case, even after the DOJ withdrawal, given that a guilty plea has been entered.)

Van Grack has long informed Sullivan that the government’s so-called "Brady" obligations, referring to prosecutors' duty to turn over exculpatory materials to defendants, have been met. In an October 2019 filing, Van Grack denied governmental misconduct and assured the court that the government “has complied, and will continue to comply, with its discovery and disclosure obligations, including those imposed pursuant to Brady and the Court’s Standing Order.”

In that same October 2019 motion, Van Grack elaborated on those claims, telling Sullivan that the government had not “affirmatively suppressed evidence” or hid Brady material. He denied that the government was “aware of any information that would be favorable and material to [Flynn] at sentencing.”

Van Grack further dismissed arguments by Flynn's attorney, Sidney Powell, that “General Flynn was targeted and taken out of the Trump administration for concocted and political purposes” as “conspiracy theories.”

What Van Grack didn’t inform the court about – and didn’t provide to Flynn – was the newly  unsealed  January 4, 2017 "Closing Communication" from the FBI Washington Field Office, which recommended the FBI close its investigation of Flynn, as its exhaustive search through government databases “did not yield any information on which to predicate further investigative efforts."

Van Grack also failed to provide evidence to Flynn’s attorneys that  anti-Trump former FBI agent Peter Strzok  then immediately  intervened  and instructed the FBI case manager handling the Flynn investigation to keep the probe open, followed by  indicators  that the bureau would seek to investigate Flynn for possible violations of an obscure 18th century law known as the Logan Act -- which has never been utilized in a modern prosecution.




First I want to thank Flynn's new Lawyer Sidney Powell, the Attorney General William Barr and of course, the honest hard working journalists at the Wall Street Journal and Fox News. It was a long time coming but we all knew this was a dirty perjury trap.

Good Job Tex in getting the story out to our readers.

As for the progressives who called it a conspiracy theory - YOU BETTER STAY HIDDEN!

 
 
 
TTGA
Professor Silent
8.1  TTGA  replied to  Vic Eldred @8    4 years ago
As for the progressives who called it a conspiracy theory

Not a theory any more.  There actually was a conspiracy.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
8.1.1  Vic Eldred  replied to  TTGA @8.1    4 years ago

Yup!

 
 
 
Tacos!
Professor Guide
9  Tacos!    4 years ago

This poor man (and anyone associated with him) has been shamed in news media and by politicians for three years. You can be sure that the coverage of his clearing of wrongdoing will receive about 1/10,000th the effort.

 
 

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