Justice Department Drops Charges Against Ex-Trump Aide Michael Flynn

Under sustained pressure from Donald Trump, the Justice Department took the highly unusual step of dropping its prosecution of Michael Flynn, the president’s first national security adviser, even though he had pleaded guilty more than two years ago to lying to FBI agents.

The move was disclosed in a court filing on Thursday shortly after the career prosecutor in charge of the case withdrew without explanation. Attorney General William Barr publicly backed the decision, which came after weeks of demands by Trump and his allies to redress what the president often calls a Democratic “hoax” and a “witch hunt” intended to tar his administration