Trump Administration 'drops' case against Trump adviser who pled guilty to lying about Russia ties

Flynn, a campaign ally, pled guilty to lying to FBI investigators probing Russian election hacking

The Associated Press is now reporting that the Justice Department is dropping its criminal case against ex-Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, now claiming the FBI's interview was "unjustified" by the agency's counterintelligence probe of Flynn and conducted "without basis."

Flynn twice pled guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador, promising cooperation with federal investigators but later rescinding that cooperation and offering, through new lawyers, increasingly bizarre claims of agency wrongdoing.

AP reports that Trump Attorney General William Barr was "briefed" on the decision, made by a U.S. Attorney assigned to review the Flynn case, last week.

Thursday, May 7, 2020 · 7:13:49 PM +00:00 · Hunter

The only person signing this motion to dismiss is the lawyer William Barr installed after he removed the U.S. attorney who oversaw the Flynn case after Robert Mueller handed it off.

No other line attorneys. https://t.co/URt1acIAs3

— Cristian Farias (@cristianafarias) May 7, 2020

Thursday, May 7, 2020 · 6:48:14 PM +00:00 · Hunter

Another very highly respected DOJ attorney withdrawing from a case, this one about Michael Flynn. Something is deeply wrong. https://t.co/aPHtYWzsnp

— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) May 7, 2020

Thursday, May 7, 2020 · 6:58:26 PM +00:00 · Hunter

The DOJ filing here is absurd and contradicts the Department's long standing positions. There is no reasonable explanation here other than that Bill Barr is seeking to undo the Mueller investigation on behalf of Trump while the world is distracted by a deadly global pandemic.

— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) May 7, 2020

Thursday, May 7, 2020 · 7:01:12 PM +00:00 · Hunter

You can read the Department of Justice filing here.