Free Republic

Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will consider President Trump’s request to remove his gag order in DOJ thug Jack Smith’s bogus election interference case. The hearing begins at 9:30 am ET. Watch live below.

That the majority of the D.C. Circuit cannot see that Judge Sullivan has a vendetta against Michael Flynn makes one wonder if they are blinded to their own bias as well? In an 8–2 decision, the D.C. Circuit yesterday denied Michael Flynn’s petition for a writ of mandamus that would have ordered district court Judge Emmett Sullivan to dismiss the criminal charge against Flynn. While the majority’s opinion presented a methodical analysis, devoid of the partisanship Sullivan displayed in handling the case against Trump’s former national security advisor, only politics can explain the D.C. Circuit’s decision. Here’s why. Flynn’s attorney,...

Finally, a semblance of sanity has been restored to the law and Constitution in the misbegotten prosecution of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday ordered the controversial lower court judge, Emmet Sullivan, to follow the law by dismissing the false statements case wrongfully brought by the original federal prosecutors who were either incompetent or corrupt — maybe both. As evidence emerged that Gen. Flynn was set up and framed by malevolent actors at the FBI —fired Director James Comey, fired Assistant Director Andrew McCabe and fired counterintelligence...

A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that the Trump administration can move forward with expanding a procedure for quickly deporting undocumented immigrants while a lawsuit against the program moves forward. A three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a preliminary injunction against the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) new rule that significantly expands the number of undocumented immigrants who can be deported without being able to make their case to an judge or accessing an attorney. The panel majority ruled that a group of nonprofits had legal standing to bring the lawsuit but that immigration law...

A divided federal appeals court on Friday seemed reluctant to order the judge presiding over former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s prosecution to dismiss the case ahead of scheduled arguments in the trial court next month. During a Friday hearing before a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, two judges expressed reservations about preventing U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan from ruling on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) motion to dismiss Flynn’s criminal case. Sullivan drew attention last month when he took the unusual step of appointing a retired federal judge to argue against dropping the charges and...

There is an old adage among lawyers: “If the facts are on your side, pound the facts; if the law is on your side, pound the law; if you have neither the facts nor the law, pound the table.” John Gleeson, the attorney and retired federal judge who was appointed by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan to argue that federal prosecutors should not be permitted to dismiss their case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, is using a sledgehammer to pound paper. On Wednesday, Gleeson filed a 72-page brief (an oxymoron, to be sure) that was stunningly feeble on...

Oral arguments are set to take place this week, when U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan will have to explain why he has not signed off on the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss its case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. The hearing marks another extraordinary turn in an extraordinary -- and seemingly interminable -- case that has brought pressure upon both the Justice Department and the judge overseeing it. After calling into question the DOJ’s choice to drop Flynn’s prosecution, Sullivan is now in the position of defending his own decision. ~snip~ Rule 48(a) of the Federal Rules...

A funny thing happened on the way to the gallows. It was discovered that the condemned man was actually innocent. But the sentence would be carried out, reasoned the hanging judge, because the partisan mob must not be left disappointed. (It would also be a waste of good lumber.) A metaphorical story, yes. But the underlying facts bear a disturbing resemblance to the treatment of Gen. Michael Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser. In early 2017, the retired three-star general was deviously set up and framed by James Comey’s FBI for a crime he did not commit. Thereafter, he...

With the Senate back to business in Washington, D.C., this week, the body moved ahead with what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said is his top priority -- confirming judges -- this time with the Senate Judiciary Committee holding a tense hearing for a Trump nominee named to a powerful slot on the nation's second-highest court. The committee Wednesday considered the nomination of Judge Justin Walker to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, also known as the D.C. Circuit, the first step to confirming the 37-year-old judge after he was nominated early last month. The...

A federal appeals court finalized Tuesday its ruling to lift an injunction against President Trump’s transgender military ban, allowing the policy to take effect April 12 as planned. The Pentagon announced this month it will enforce a policy banning most transgender people from serving in the military starting April 12. The announcement came after courts ruled to lift all four injunctions that had been placed on the ban. But the Trump administration and transgender groups continued to fight over whether one of the injunctions remained in effect. Lawyers for transgender troops suing the administration argued the injunction was still in...

President Donald Trump's pick to replace Brett Kavanaugh on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to face tough questioning from Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday over what they say is a career of advocating an expansive view of presidential power and working on the widespread rollback of regulations. If confirmed, Neomi Rao would sit on one of the most important courts in the country and one that acts as a springboard to the Supreme Court. Her confirmation hearing Tuesday provides Democrats with the opportunity to press the nominee about her views on the environment, affirmative action,...