What is this BS? Flynn never wants to see these guys again.
This may be a face-saving move by Sullivan who can now blame Covington & Burling as well as Van Grack for committing fraud on the court justifying his outlandish behavior during the late stages of this affair. Sullivan knows he has no other way out here.
Both the evidence and legal precedent have put him in a corner from which he has no escape. If he continues on the path of ignoring stare decisis and allowing so-called friends of the court to file an amicus brief, he will be blown out of the water by the the DC Court of Appeals. To jam General Flynn by attempting to charge him with contempt or perjury in the absence of executive branch participation in such would also put him at odds with stare decisis and create a whole new precedent which no judge or criminal attorney in their right mind would support. Just imagine the howling from other members of the bar were he to criminalize the withdrawal of a plea made under duress due to prosecutorial misconduct.
I think what you will see is judge Sullivan reversing his decision in regards to allowing outside input and he will shift his ire toward those that put him in this position. He can either do that or be summarily overturned and end up in an ethics investigation due to the partisan nature of his outbursts and decisions.
Sullivan really has no other choice if he wants to stay on the bench.
I think Sullivan is trying to box Flynn in if Flynn says his answers to the Rule 11 colloquy when the court accepted his guilty plea were based on the advice of his counsel.