June 1, 2020
MUST:
Judge questions 'unusual' Justice Department filing in Flynn case (KYLE CHENEY, 06/01/2020, Politico)
DOJ, Sullivan noted, repeatedly affirmed for years that the evidence Flynn lied to the FBI was ironclad and crucial to the FBI's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Its reversal, he said, regardless of the details provided in it, raises troubling questions."It was signed by the Acting U.S. Attorney alone, with no line prosecutors joining; it featured no affidavits or declarations supporting its many new factual allegations; it was not accompanied by a motion to vacate the government's prior, contrary filings and representations; it cited minimal legal authority in support of its view on materiality," Sullivan's brief noted, adding that it also omitted any mention of other potentially criminal conduct Flynn had admitted to in his plea: working on behalf of the Turkish government without registering as a foreign agent."It is unprecedented for an Acting U.S. Attorney to contradict the solemn representations that career prosecutors made time and again, and undermine the district court's legal and factual findings, in moving on his own to dismiss the charge years after two different federal judges accepted the defendant's plea," Sullivan's legal team wrote, adding, "As this Court's precedents envision, Judge Sullivan can--and arguably must--consider those issues before granting a motion to dismiss."
Posted by Orrin Judd at June 1, 2020 5:52 PM
