The US justice department last night said it was dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for the president and his supporters in attacking the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation.
The US justice department last night said it was dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for the president and his supporters in attacking the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation.
The action was a stunning reversal for one of the signature cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller.
It comes even though prosecutors for the past three years have maintained that Mr Flynn lied to the FBI in a January 2017 interview about his conversations with the Russian ambassador.
Mr Flynn admitted as much, pleading guilty before later asking to withdraw the plea, and he became a key co-operator for Mr Mueller as the special counsel investigated ties between Russia and Mr Trump’s 2016 political campaign.
Yesterday’s action was swiftly embraced by Mr Trump, who has relentlessly tweeted about the « outrageous » case and last week pronounced Mr Flynn « exonerated ».
It could also newly energise Trump supporters who have taken up the retired army lieutenant general as a cause.
But it will also add to Democratic complaints that Attorney General William Barr is excessively loyal to the president, and could be a distraction for a justice department that for months has sought to focus on crimes arising from the coronavirus.
