Flynn now ‘an innocent man’
The Justice Department’s decision to drop its prosecution of former national security adviser Michael Flynn yesterday was greeted as a triumph by President Donald Trump and his allies, who have argued for years that Flynn was set up – but with dire alarm by Trump’s opponents, who saw the move as an attack on the rule of law.
The extreme division mirrored three years of partisan combat over how the FBI handled Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.
At a celebratory White House, aides cheered Attorney General William Barr, whose decision to appoint a new prosecutor to review the case paved the way for yesterday’s move.
The White House declined to comment on whether the president would be making an appearance soon with Flynn.
Trump – who fired his national security adviser in early 2017 because the president said Flynn had lied about his interactions with the Russian ambassador to the United States – showered Flynn with praise yesterday, calling him ‘‘an innocent man.’’
‘‘Things are falling out now and coming in line showing what a hoax this whole investigation was,’’ he told reporters. ‘‘It was a total disgrace, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you see a lot of things happen over the next number of weeks. This is just one piece of a very dishonest puzzle.’’
Congressional Democrats said they were appalled.
‘‘Attorney General Barr’s politicisation of justice knows no bounds,’’ House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. She accused Barr’s department of ‘‘dropping the case to continue to cover up for the president.’’
‘‘With no legitimate prosecutorial basis, they’ve simply thrown away a conviction,’’ Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, a member of the Judiciary Committee and a former US attorney and state attorney general, said in an interview. ‘‘It’s sad and outrageous for the justice system to be used in this way, for naked political ends and a coverup – and they’re obviously exploiting the pandemic as a means to distract from this.’’
And a chorus of former federal prosecutors and FBI officials decried the move, saying the Justice Department had caved to years of pressure from Trump and provided Flynn an outcome he would not have received were he an ordinary defendant.
Barr – who has repeatedly expressed scepticism about the Russia investigation – said in an interview with CBS that it was the Justice Department’s ‘‘duty’’ to dismiss the case because prosecutors could not establish that a crime had been committed.
He disputed that he was doing Trump’s bidding – ‘‘No, I’m doing the law’s bidding,’’ he retorted – and said he was ready to take criticism for the decision.
‘‘I’m prepared for that, but I also think it’s sad that nowadays, these partisan feelings are so strong that people have lost any sense of justice,’’ Barr said.
Trump ousted Flynn after the retired general served only 23 days as national security adviser, saying that Flynn had lied to Vice President Mike Pence and others about his conversations with the Russian ambassador in the weeks before Trump took office.
During the calls, Flynn urged Russia not to respond to sanctions imposed by the Obama administration for the Kremlin’s interference in the 2016 campaign, according to special counsel Robert Mueller III’s report.
Flynn pleaded guilty in 2018 to lying to FBI agents during a January 2017 interview about the phone calls with the ambassador. He agreed to co-operate with Mueller’s team as it investigated Russia’s actions in the presidential campaign.
After Flynn pleaded guilty, Trump tweeted that he ‘‘had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI,’’ adding that Flynn’s lies were a ‘‘shame’’ because he had done nothing illegal during the transition.
However, after Mueller concluded his work and issued his report last year, Flynn replaced his legal team and then sought to withdraw his plea.
Former FBI Director James Comey and his deputy Andrew McCabe, who had directed Flynn’s interview, both blasted the decision.
Through a representative, Mueller declined to comment. –