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 Trump and his supporters in attacking the
FBI’s 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 last three years had
maintained that Flynn had lied to the FBI about his conversations
with the Russian ambassador in a January 2017 interview.
Flynn himself admitted as much and became a key cooperator for
Mueller as he 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 on January 24, 2017, was ‘conducted without any
legitimate investigative basis.’
The U.S. attorney reviewing the Flynn case, Jeff Jensen,
recommended the move 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 energize supporters who have taken up the retired
Army lieutenant general as something of a cause celebre.
But it may also add to Democratic concerns 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.
(Associated Press)
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 Trump and his supporters in attacking the
FBI’s 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 last three years had
maintained that Flynn had lied to the FBI about his conversations
with the Russian ambassador in a January 2017 interview.
Flynn himself admitted as much and became a key cooperator for
Mueller as he 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 on January 24, 2017, was ‘conducted without any
legitimate investigative basis.’
The U.S. attorney reviewing the Flynn case, Jeff Jensen,
recommended the move 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 energize supporters who have taken up the retired
Army lieutenant general as something of a cause celebre.
But it may also add to Democratic concerns 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.
(Associated Press)