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A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected an effort by a group of lobbyists and political consultants to obtain access to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and its emergency loans for small businesses hit by the coronavirus pandemic. A three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal judge's decision not to grant a request by the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) for a preliminary injunction against the Small Business Administration (SBA), which oversees the lending program. In a three-page decision, the panel rejected the group's argument that excluding lobbyists and political consultants from the loans...

D.C. federal Judge Emmett Sullivan has hired Beth Wilkinson, a high-powered attorney from the D.C. establishment, to represent him in the Court of Appeals case seeking a writ of mandamus filed by Sidney Powell, the attorney for former Trump National Security Advisor Lt. Gen Michael Flynn (Army Ret.). Powell is seeking to have the appeals court block Sullivan’s efforts to prolong the Flynn case in the face of a motion by the Justice Department to dismiss the with prejudice and to have Sullivan removed form the case. In a stunning move, Sullivan had previously announced the appointment of former federal...

The Department of Justice should weigh in and soon because this case is no longer just about Flynn. It is about separation of powers, the executive branch — and now, unfortunately, about Judge Sullivan. Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn and his legal team, led by attorney Sidney Powell, received promising news Thursday from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. In a rare move, a three-judge panel ordered Judge Emmet Sullivan, the presiding judge in the long-running criminal case against Flynn, to respond to Powell’s petition for a writ of mandamus. In that petition, Powell asked the appellate court to order...

A three panel DC Appeals Court Panel, Judge Henderson, Judge Wilkins and Judge Rao have ordered Michael Flynn’s Judge, Emett Sullivan, to respond to the defense petition for a writ of mandamus within ten days: Quoting the U.S. vs Fokker ruling the panel is not responding directly to the Flynn petition with an immediate decision; instead they are requiring Judge Sullivan to explain his decision to engage with extra-party amicus actions despite the DOJ and Flynn defense agreement on the motion to dismiss. The order can be viewed as a smart move by the appeals panel because Judge Sullivan has...

A federal appeals court on Thursday ordered the judge handling the criminal case of President Donald Trump’s former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, to respond to a request by Flynn’s lawyers to dismiss the case. The order came two days after Flynn’s lawyers asked the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to drop the case and assign any future court proceedings to another judge. The Department of Justice two weeks earlier made the surprise move to abandon its own prosecution of Flynn, who had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with then-Russian...

Michael Flynn's attorney Sidney Powell on Tuesday filed an emergency writ of mandamus to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals seeking the immediate removal of Judge Emmet Sulivan from the case -- and saying that under appellate precedent set by the "Fokker Services" case, Sullivan or his replacement must dismiss the prosecution, as the Justice Department has requested. Writs of mandamus are extraordinary remedies, which are appropriate when there has been a "usurpation of judicial power" that is "clear and indisputable" -- and, Powell argued, Sullivan's behavior fits the bill. Powell also demanded the appellate court vacate Sullivan's order appointing...

Sullivan should not embark on any contempt proceeding against Michael Flynn. Doing so would be a misuse of his contempt power. Stunning developments in the criminal case of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn exploded onto the national scene the past two weeks. First, the government moved to dismiss the case, a one-count plea for allegedly making false statements to the FBI.Then the trial judge, Emmet Sullivan, issued an order permitting people and groups claiming to have an interest in the matter to file briefs about whether he should grant the governmentÂ’s motion. Further, Sullivan appointed a retired federal judge, John Gleeson,...

Talkshow Television Lawyers Got It Wrong By: Sharp Steelblade, Esq. The Bad News Journal is now reporting that Mark Levin, Judge Napolitano, and Judge Judy are dead wrong on th law. Either they have not read the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure or are simply spinning the Flynn story for ratings. The sad fact is that General Flynn was railroaded. We don’t know what the attorney told Flynn prior to his guilty plea, but after reportedly paying six million in fees and costs one would think that there might have been a better outcome. But that is not what this...

Sidney Powell, attorney for Michael Flynn, appeared on Fox News yesterday to discuss the latest actions by Judge Emmet Sullivan. If you aren’t aware of his latest machinations, he’s essentially stalling on approving the motion to dismiss put forth by the DOJ, instead appointing a rabid partisan to argue against it. Not only is that almost unheard of, he’s also asking for amicus briefs from political actors in a criminal case, another move that is not only twilight zone stuff, but likely not even allowed. In the interview with Sean Hannity, Powell described herself as being mystified by Sullivan’s gamesmanship....

A three-judge federal appeals court said Tuesday the DOJ’s settlement with Fokker Services B.V. for alleged sanctions violations could go ahead after a district court judge rejected the arrangement as “anemic.” The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, DC said prosecutors and not judges make decisions to enter into deferred prosecution agreement with corporate defendants. In February 2015, federal district court judge Richard Leon refused to approve the settlement. He said the proposed $21 million penalty was “grossly disproportionate to the gravity of Fokker Sercvices’ conduct in a post-911 world.” Holland-based Fokker Services admitted in a 2014 plea deal that...

General Mike Flynn’s fired lawyers at COVINGTON & BURLING filed court papers on Thursday to reappear in Flynn’s case. Federal Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered Flynn’s former legal team to reappear as an interested party and they complied by filing a notice of appearance.Via Law & Crime: The federal judge overseeing Michael Flynn’s criminal prosecution has directed the legal team that Flynn fired to reappear as an interested party in the controversial proceeding. On Thursday, that former legal team complied by filing a notice of appearance.U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan of the District of Columbia on Thursday ordered the clerk of the court to “add Covington &...

The federal judge overseeing Michael Flynn’s criminal prosecution has directed the law firm that Flynn fired to reappear as an interested party in the controversial proceeding. On Thursday, that firm complied by filing a notice of appearance. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan of the District of Columbia on Thursday ordered the clerk of the court to “add Covington & Burling LLP (‘Covington’) as an interested party in this matter and directed counsel for Covington to file a notice of appearance on behalf of Covington as an interested party.” John E. Hall, the chair of Covington Burling’s global litigation practice, submitted...

To File a Complaint Click to download Acrobat Reader Download a version of the complaint form from the list below. English (two pages, 26.85 KB pdf) Spanish (two pages, 42.21 KB pdf) Chinese (two pages, 141.61 KB pdf) Italian (two pages, 41.66 KB pdf) Korean (two pages, 123.35 KB pdf) Vietnamese (two pages, 41.05 KB pdf) Farsi (three pages, 64.19 KB pdf) Complete and print the form (signed and dated). Attach any relevant documents you have and send it by fax to (202) 638-0862, by email to odcinfo@dcodc.org, or by mail to: Office of Disciplinary Counsel Board on Professional Responsibility...

U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan disregarded two controlling precedents from higher courts with his decision to appoint John Gleeson as amicus curiae in the U.S. v. Michael Flynn case this week. Judicial conduct similar to J. Sullivan’s in these prior, far less politically charged cases was roundly and unanimously condemned by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. ... One week ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 9-0 decision, authored by Justice Ginsburg, that took judges to task for similar amicus antics. Her opinion for the Court in U.S. v. Sineneng-Smith upbraided the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit...

Judge Emmet G. Sullivan will consider whether to find former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn in criminal contempt of court after the Department of Justice (DOJ) moved last week to drop its prosecution of Flynn for lying to the FBI. Sullivan issued an order Wednesday appointing retired judge John Gleeson as amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) to argue against the DOJ’s motion to dismiss the case, as well as to advise the court on whether it should begin contempt proceedings. New Flynn Filing – Judge Sullivan appoints retired Judge John Gleeson as amicus "to present arguments in opposition to...

Sixteen former Watergate prosecutors have notified Emmet Sullivan, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, that they intend to file an "amicus curiae" ("friend of the court") brief in the case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn after the Department of Justice (DOJ) moved to dismiss the charges against him. Flynn had previously pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators, but he moved to withdraw that plea earlier this year, followed by the DOJ decision last week. Sullivan, however, has not yet approved the DOJ's motion and made the unusual move this week of...

The Constitution limits the jurisdiction of federal judges to actual cases and controversies. They may not offer advisory opinions or intrude on executive or legislative powers, except when the other branches have exercised them in an unconstitutional manner. Federal judges are umpires deciding matters about which litigants disagree. If the litigants come to an agreement, there is no controversy. The case is over. Many judges disapprove of this limitation on their power. Not happy being umpires, they want to be commissioner of baseball. Thus courts have arrogated to themselves powers the Constitution explicitly denies them. They have invented exceptions to...

D.C. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan issued an unusual order Wednesday appointing a law firm partner "to present arguments in opposition to the government's motion to dismiss" the matter -- and to consider whether the court should hold Flynn in contempt for perjury. The partner, retired federal judge John Gleeson, has openly criticized the Trump administration's handling of Michael Flynn's case, raising concerns that he was selected to improperly bolster Sullivan's efforts to keep the Flynn case alive even though both the government and defendant want it dismissed. Sullivan has previously suggested Flynn may have committed treason, in a bizarre...

The U.S. Constitution makes clear that the judiciary has no business second-guessing prosecutorial decisions. That’s what Michael Flynn judge Emmet Sullivan decided to do. On May 13, Judge Emmet Sullivan issued a blatantly biased and unconstitutional order in the long-lasting Michael Flynn criminal case. To preserve the rule of law and our constitutional separation of powers, the Department of Justice has no choice now but to seek a writ of mandamus from the D.C. Circuit Court ordering the criminal charge against Flynn dismissed and reassigning the case to another judge. On Tuesday, Judge Sullivan shocked court watchers when he entered...

Most relevant part of article" Sullivan said he was seeking Gleeson's recommendation on whether Flynn should face a criminal contempt charge for perjury because he testified under oath that he was guilty of lying to the FBI but then reversed course and said he had never lied.