I have zilch in the way of legal knowledge, and I do appreciate the presentation of a thought process outside of what we are accustomed to hearing or seeing on the public facing side of it.
But I think (and I feel you agree to at least some degree with your final sentence) that is abhorrent for this judge to use the Flynn case to make any kind of judicial statement meant to garner more power or authority to the job of a judge.
This case against Flynn should have been tossed years ago, and like the Judge did in the case against Ted Stevens where he finally did the right thing but only after the damage had already been catastrophically done to Ted Stevens’ campaign and he lost the election.
From
https://www.dcbar.org/bar-resources/publications/washington-lawyer/articles/october-2009-ted-stevens.cfm
The Prosecutors
The Justice Department probe into Stevens and other Alaskan officials, known as Operation Polar Pen, lasted several years. Lawyers from Washington fought with lawyers from Alaska over how to handle the case and whether to bring charges in Alaska or the District of Columbia.
Some observers blame the subsequent problems in part on the lawyers’ personal conflicts and poor management. Others suggest that the Justice Department lawyers were no match for the stars that formed the defense team—they knew it and felt pressure to find any advantage they could.
But in actuality, some of the Justice Department’s finest lawyers handled the case. The trial team was part of an elite group of prosecutors in the Public Integrity (PIN) Section, with experience pursuing high-profile and complex cases.
The PIN Section, which comprises about 30 lawyers, investigates and prosecutes corruption in all levels of government. Between 2001 and 2007, it brought public corruption charges against 416 individuals, winning 371 convictions. And just recently, the section was praised for its investigation of Washington lobbyist and convicted felon Jack Abramoff.
Seasoned litigator Brenda K. Morris, principal deputy chief of the PIN Section, was not assigned to the prosecution team until late into the investigation. A native Washingtonian, Morris received her juris doctor from Howard University and trained as a prosecutor in the New York County District Attorney’s Office. She moved back to Washington, D.C., and joined the PIN Section in 1991. Promoted in 2004, Morris supervised high-profile cases, including the Abramoff probe and a series of cases involving the theft of funds meant for the Iraqi reconstruction. She is also an adjunct law professor at the Georgetown University Law Center.
Brand, who has opposed her in cases, describes Morris as “fair, forthright, and sensitive to the facts.”
Chuck Rosenberg, Morris’ lawyer and a partner at Hogan & Hartson LLP, declined comment.
The rest of the prosecution team included Nicholas A. Marsh and Edward P. Sullivan, Washington, D.C.-based trial lawyers. And then there were the Alaska-based lawyers, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph W. Bottini and James A. Goeke.
Overseeing the case as supervisory attorney was William M. Welch II, chief of the PIN Section. Welch grew up in Massachusetts, the son of a local judge. He received his law degree from Northwestern University School of Law and worked in several parts of the Justice Department, including the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Springfield, Massachusetts. There, Welch made his name prosecuting a serial killer nurse and Springfield City administrators for corruption. In 2006 Welch was recruited to Washington, D.C., and has been the head of the section since 2007. Prior to the Stevens meltdown, Welch allegedly was angling to be the U.S. Attorney in Massachusetts.
“Bill is the hardest working prosecutor I’ve ever worked with,” says Kevin J. Cloherty, a former supervisory attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts. “He is of the highest ethical standards and is dedicated to public service and doing the right thing.”
But, you see, in that case Sullivan waited until just 8 days before the election day to complain about the DOJ mistreating a republican Senator! And of course just after the jury “convicted” the republican of the crime. Damage has already been done against a Republican.
“For months Judge Sullivan had warned U.S. prosecutors about their repeated failure to turn over evidence. Then, after the jury convicted Stevens, the Justice Department discovered previously unrevealed evidence. Meanwhile, a prosecution witness and an agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) came forward alleging prosecutorial misconduct. Finally, newly appointed U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced that he had had enough and recommended that the seven-count conviction against the former Alaska senator be dismissed.”