DOJ Drops Michael Flynn Prosecution
Joel B. Pollak7
May 20201


The Department of Justice is reportedly dropping its prosecution of former National Security Adviser General Michael Flynn (Ret.), according to the Associated Press.

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🚨🚨 SCOOP –> WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Department is dropping criminal case against ex-Trump adviser Flynn, according to court filing obtained by AP.

— Mike Balsamo (@MikeBalsamo1) May 7, 2020

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The news comes a week after new evidence released to Flynn’s lawyers showed FBI agents apparently attempting to trap Flynn into lying to them, hoping he would be prosecuted or fired. The evidence also suggested they knew he had not committed a separate crime.

Earlier Thursday, prosecutor Brandon Van Grack withdrew from the case.

Flynn had been director of the Defense Intelligence Agency under President Barack Obama but was fired. He then joined Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, shaping its foreign policy and introducing Trump at rallies.

After Trump won, Flynn shaped the national security policies of the incoming administration and was picked to serve as National Security Adviser. In that capacity, he held conversations with foreign officials, including then-Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Flynn’s conversations with Kislyak were picked up by wiretaps of the ambassador, and his name was “unmasked” by Obama administration officials in transcripts of the conversations, which were leaked to the Washington Post. At the same time, the Obama Department of Justice investigated Flynn under the Logan Act of 1799, which prevents private citizens from conducting diplomacy but is rarely enforced.

Though the FBI found no evidence of wrongdoing — as shown in documents produced by the FBI to Flynn’s lawyer, Sidney Powell, last week — senior officials kept the case open.

Then-FBI Director James Comey sent FBI agents to meet with Flynn informally at the White House, hoping to trap Flynn into lying about his conversations with Kislyak.

The controversy concerned a question about whether Flynn discussed the Obama administration’s sanctions against Russia for election interference. Flynn allegedly denied doing so, though the transcript suggested that he had.

Flynn resigned from the administration after apparently misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Kislyak.

He was later prosecuted for lying to the FBI, and pleaded guilty, under pressure and on the advice of his former counsel from Covington and Burling LLP. He had to sell his house to pay his legal fees.

At the time, Flynn’s prosecution was seen by Democrats and the media as the foundation for Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of supposed “collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russia.

But Mueller found no evidence of “collusion,” and as evidence began to emerge of misconduct by the FBI and the DOJ, Flynn moved earlier this year to withdraw his guilty plea.

In February, Attorney General William Barr appointed an outside prosecutor, Jeffrey Jensen, to review the DOJ’s case against Flynn. Under closer scrutiny, the FBI released more documents — and the prosecution began to unravel.

The case against Flynn is now over.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/...nn-prosecution/

Jabba reacted as expected.


Jerry Nadler Rages After DOJ Drops Flynn Case: ‘Outrageous!’
Joshua Caplan
7 May 2020

House Judiciary Committee Jerry Nadler (D-NY) reacted furiously to the Department of Justice reportedly dropping its criminal case against retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, referring to the Thursday development as “outrageous.”

“This is outrageous! Flynn PLEADED GUILTY to lying to investigators,” Nadler wrote on social media. “The evidence against him is overwhelming. Now, a politicized DOJ is dropping the case.”

“The decision to overrule the special counsel is without precedent and warrants an immediate explanation,” the New York Democrat added

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This is outrageous!

Flynn PLEADED GUILTY to lying to investigators. The evidence against him is overwhelming. Now, a politicized DOJ is dropping the case.

The decision to overrule the special counsel is without precedent and warrants an immediate explanation.

1/2 https://t.co/MxRyWkCMPw

— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) May 7, 2020

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“Due to the ongoing COVID-19 emergency, I worked with DOJ to postpone our scheduled hearing with AG Barr as attentions and resources appropriately went to responding to the pandemic. But rest assured, we are going to reschedule that hearing, ASAP, and demand answers!” he concluded.

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Due to the ongoing COVID-19 emergency, I worked with DOJ to postpone our scheduled hearing with AG Barr as attentions and resources appropriately went to responding to the pandemic. But rest assured, we are going to reschedule that hearing, ASAP, and demand answers! 2/2 https://t.co/OywQR41khM

— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) May 7, 2020

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President Trump celebrated the reported move involving his former national security advisor, stating: “He was an innocent man… Now in my book he’s an even greater warrior.”

“I hope a lot of people are going to pay a big price,” the president added, before accusing Obama-era FBI officials of committing treason. “They’re scum.”

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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/...ped-flynn-case/

Michael Flynn Prosecutor Quits Case
Joel B. Pollak
7 May 2020

Brandon Van Grack, one of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s handpicked prosecutors, has withdrawn from the case against former National Security Adviser General Michael Flynn (Ret.).

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A top prosecutor in the special counsel’s office, Brandon Van Grack, has withdrawn from the government’s prosecution of ex-Trump national security adviser Mike Flynn. pic.twitter.com/P1ayIpkAb1

— Brad Heath (@bradheath) May 7, 2020

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Van Grack’s withdrawal marks a major victory for Flynn and for his new attorney, Sidney Powell, who have secured the release in recent days of exculpatory evidence showing that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) may have targeted Flynn.

Documents released last week show the FBI deliberating about whether their real goal in meeting Flynn in January 2017 at the White House was to obtain the truth, or to have him prosecuted or fired.

Senior FBI officials used the pretext of an informal meeting to set Flynn up — without informing him that he was a target of investigation.

The “crime” for which he had been probed was violating the Logan Act of 1799, a statute preventing private citizens from conducting diplomacy. It is almost never enforced, and Flynn arguably had not violated it in any case, since he was incoming National Security Adviser when he had conversations with foreign officials, including the Russian ambassador.

Furthermore, text messages released last week reveal that the FBI had found no evidence of any wrongdoing by Flynn. On Jan. 4, 2017, the FBI drafted a memo to close the case — until agent Peter Strzok intervened, saying that senior leadership wanted the investigation to remain open.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/...tor-quits-case/