Posted on 05/13/2020 8:20:38 AM PDT by jazusamo
It’s a sure sign of desperation whenever lawyers try to raise President Richard Milhous Nixon from the dead.
And so it is that a group of former Watergate special prosecutors this week resurrected the Ghost of Watergate Past in a last-ditch effort to keep alive the federal court case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
The gang, adopting the sobriquet “Watergate Prosecutors,” asked permission from U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan to allow them to intervene in the Flynn case so they can – to put it bluntly – tell his honor how to think and what to do.
The judge issued an order Tuesday indicating he will soon accept “amicus curiae” (“friend of the court”) submissions in the case.
But in trial court proceedings involving crimes, only prosecutors and defense attorneys are permitted to be heard. Judges are supposed to render decisions based on evidence and arguments presented by the parties involved, not outside interests.
The prosecution of Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, has been on life-support since the Justice Department belatedly moved last week to dismiss charges against him. He was accused of making false statements to the FBI during an interview that was nothing more than a devious perjury trap designed to “get Flynn to lie.” The FBI was creating a crime, not investigating one.
A review ordered by Attorney General William Barr discovered that former FBI Director James Comey’s agents and Robert Mueller’s special counsel hit squad concealed vital exculpatory evidence from Flynn and his attorneys. The hidden documents showed that the retired lieutenant general did not lie to FBI agents, despite his coerced guilty plea under threat.
The former Watergate prosecutors now want to meddle in the Flynn proceedings like uninvited house guests...
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Just PARDON FLYNN
F the activist judges
He’s a willing enemy combatant against the United States and Constitution.
Yep, spot on.
Judgie and Big Media are aiming to pick up the prosecution for our enemies by bringing in the Watergate “big guns”.
Which also included BJ Clinton’s wife, before she was fired.
Flynn may be facing sentencing for a crime he did not commit, for a proper defense he was denied, for prosecutor misconduct, a civil rights violation by illegally monitoring his conversations from 2014, and that makes Democrats comfortable......... and judges who are compromised site easier......but it will mean a lot more taxpayer money will be payed when the damages are settled.
Let the Judge pay the damages to Flynn for the government misconduct. He should pay the price of the obvious civil suit that follows. No, you violate someones rights and have no real crime to start with, its time to pack up and go home. Sullivan has clearly been compromised.
We do win some battles though thanks to the hard work from folks like Greg and others- and their work is very much appreciated- but the sad point is that the left do get away with most of their crimes- unfortunately-
Great post...
There is no longer a crime to appeal the DOJ dropped all charges this judge is simply INSANE and should no longer be on the bench!!!
There are no longer any charges the DOJ dismissed the case how in the hell can the judge sentence him on a dismissed case!!
We have trump card. He can always be pardoned. But i want a law suit in which he recoups his losses and more.
Are there enough wheelchairs for them to have a meeting?
He will sentence Flynn to prison, which he is perfectly free to do right now.
The Sullivan view is, this case is decided. Outsiders always can make appearances at sentencing hearings.
After this why would he want to work for the govt again? How would a pardon affect a civil suit?
No, but even if pardoned, he still must serve his sentence. Because some Democrat certified him as a terrorist, that’s eight years per guilty plea, or 16 years total. After completing his sentence of 16 years at hard labor, once pardoned, he’ll be completely free with no legal impediments. He of course will answer, “yes,” to “Have you ever been convicted of a felony?” And that answer may disqualify him from many jobs, especially if not given the opportunity to explain with the pardon, but he will be an ex-felon. The president can commute his sentence to time served, but that does not confer a pardon, and he forever would be known as a terrorist and liar and criminal and felon.
That's tantamount to the judge ordering the DoJ to pursue the charges.
Nothing to prevent him from just sentencing Flynn is there? He has a guilty plea in the case.
I prefer the Ric Grenell play...fire Wray, nominate a ball buster in his place. Then, appoint Flynn as acting Director.
Has the DOJ "dropped the charges" or "withdrawn the case"? Does that make a difference to your question above? (Asking because I don't know, not to be a smart-ass.)
Yeah, free to move about with the cloud of fake accusations still hanging over his head, while this Judge diddles with himself.
I am going to make a suggestion completely at odds with what everyone on both the right and the left thinks Judge Sullivan is doing. I am probably wrong, but it is something to think about:
1. Judge Sullivan is known for taking a hard line with the unethical prosecutors in the Ted Stevens case (it is why he issues an order requiring prosecutors to provide documents);
2. In the Ted Stevens case, the DOJ filed a motion to dismiss after the conviction that was granted.
3. The very brief motion to dismiss filed by DOJ in the Ted Stevens case includes: (a) an admission that it filed something “inaccurate” in opposition to a prior motion for new trial by Stevens; (b) an admission that “certain matters in this case have been referred to the Office of Professional Responsibility of the DOJ,” including with respect to the inaccuracies.
4. The DOJ’s description of FBI actions in the Flynn motion to dismiss looks bad to Flynn supporters, but does not describe anything done by the prosecutors as inaccurate or as being reviewed for ethical violations.
5. At the end of Judge Sullivan’s 12/16/19 Order denying Flynn some discovery and dismissal, he wrote: “This case is not United States v. Theodore F. Stevens, Criminal Action No. 08–231(EGS), the case that Mr. Flynn relies on throughout his briefing. In that case, the Court granted the government’s motion to dismiss, and the government admitted that it had committed Brady violations and made misrepresentations to the Court. In re Special Proceedings, 825 F. Supp. 2d 203, 204 (D.D.C. 2011).”
6. By comparison — in exchange for the DOJ’s motion to dismiss, Flynn filed to withdraw his “motion to dismiss case for egregious government misconduct.” So the DOJ in the Flynn case is attempting to walk away without coming completely clean.
7. The DOJ’s main argument for dismissal is that Flynn’s statements were not “material” to an investigation. Judge Sullivan found Flynn’s alleged lies were “material” in his 12/16/19 Order, because that is what DOJ argued at the time. It would not be unreasonable to require the DOJ to explain whether the earlier DOJ arguments were “misrepresentations,” or perhaps “proved to be wrong by new evidence.”
Conclusion: It is possible that Judge Sullivan is going to require AG Barr to embarrass the prosecutors who have withdrawn before granting the dismissal.
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