Michael Flynn slams judge appealing order to dismiss his prosecution
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn said a federal judge "hijacked" his criminal prosecution "for his own purposes" and asked an appeals court to deny the judge's request to reconsider its previous order that he dismiss the case.
Flynn said in a memo filed Monday with the U.S. appeals court in Washington, D.C., that it would unfairly prolong the legal battle to grant the request by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan for a so-called en banc rehearing by a larger panel of appellate judge.
Last month, a divided three-judge panel instructed Sullivan to grant the Justice Department's May 7 request to dismiss the charges against Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Russia contacts. Sullivan had sought to hold hearings on the request to determine if the Justice Department under Attorney General William Barr had acted in favor of a political ally of President Donald Trump.
"Judge Sullivan's extraordinary actions arise solely from his disagreement with the Government's decision to dismiss the case," Flynn said in the memo. "The district court has hijacked and extended a criminal prosecution for almost three months for its own purposes," he added.
Flynn argued that Sullivan overlooked 80 pages of evidence showing the case against him was flawed and influenced by political bias. He also called the judge's petition for rehearing "rife with errors," highlighting a misstated date.
The Justice Department filed its own memo Monday opposing Sullivan's petition, arguing that the appeals court should deny the request on procedural grounds. The memo also defended the panel's original decision and said that allowing the process to continue would cause "irreparable injury" to the government.
_Bloomberg News
