By Steve Neavling
A federal judge overseeing the criminal case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn raised more questions Tuesday about the Justice Department’s decision to drop the case.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said his role “is not intended to serve merely as a rubber stamp” for prosecutors who want to dismiss a case, NBC News reports.
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.comAccusing the judge of “abject bias” against Flynn, who served briefly under President Trump, Flynn’s attorney Sidney Powell said she plans to ask Sullivan to recuse himself from the case.
Powell also revealed to the court that she recently met in person with Trump and asked him not to pardon Flynn.
“I provided the White House an update on the status of the litigation,” she said. “And I asked that the president not issue a pardon.”
In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District Columbia Circuit ruled that Sullivan can does not have to promptly dismiss the case just because the Justice Department sought to drop it.
In 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia.
Now the Justice Department and Flynn want the case to be dismissed, drawing criticism from Democrats and legal experts who have questioned Attorney General William Barr’s motives for intervening in a case tied to Trump.
