Appeals Court Forces Dismissal Of Michael Flynn Case Over Judge’s Objections

A federal appeals court, in a narrow 2-1 decision, moved to force a federal judge to dismiss a criminal case against former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn, who had twice admitted his guilt.

The Justice Department, led by Attorney General William Barr, had moved to dismiss the case against Donald Trump associate Flynn, who has admitted to lying to the FBI about his communications with the Russian government.

Judge Neomi Rao of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, a Trump appointee who formerly served in the Trump administration, wrote the majority opinion, saying that allowing U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan to examine the Justice Department’s reasons for moving to drop the charge “will result in specific harms to the exercise of the Executive Branch’s exclusive prosecutorial power.”