NEW YORK _ Federal prosecutors denied former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's claim that "egregious misconduct" by the government warranted dismissal of a charge that he lied to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents about his contacts with the Russian ambassador.
In a filing Wednesday in federal court in Washington, the government pushed back against Flynn's attempt to attack the case against him by citing an internal Justice Department report that criticized FBI efforts to obtain secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrants on then-Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Van Grack said in the filing that "the misconduct described in the report does not pertain to the investigation of the defendant or his false statements to the FBI on January 24, 2017." He also said the FISA missteps described in the report would not in any case amount to "egregious misconduct" warranting dismissal of the case against Flynn.
Flynn had asked U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan on Jan. 29 to dismiss the case due to "outrageous government misconduct" stemming from the report, which found errors by the FBI but no political bias.
A former Army general, Flynn pleaded guilty to the charge in December 2017 but is now seeking to withdraw his plea ahead of sentencing. He resigned as national security advisor to President Donald Trump after less than a month when his Russian contacts came to light.
