Former national security adviser Michael Flynn arrives for his sentencing hearing at the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. on December 18, 2018. (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Feb 13, 2020
Attorney General William Barr has reportedly installed an outside prosecutor to scrutinize the criminal case against President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty in December of 2017 to lying to the FBI during the Russia probe.
Barr's move, reported Friday by the New York Times, comes as the attorney general is facing calls to resign over his decision to intervene in the case of Trump's longtime friend and confidant Roger Stone.
"The review is highly unusual and could trigger more accusations of political interference by top Justice Department officials into the work of career prosecutors," the Times noted. "Mr. Barr has also installed a handful of outside prosecutors to broadly review the handling of other politically sensitive national-security cases in the U.S. attorney's office in Washington."
\u201cMake no mistake - this is simply Attorney General Barr taking the cases away from my former office - the DC US Atty office - installing his former aide Timothy Shea as US Atty maybe not enough given the fight the office seems to have put over Roger Stone\n https://t.co/aLmr6udtbx\u201d— Shanlon Wu (@Shanlon Wu) 1581704893
"Barr is going to burn DOJ to the ground from the inside in his crusade to advance the president's political interests," MSNBC legal analyst Matthew Miller tweeted in response to the news.
The Times reported that the criminal case against Flynn "has been bogged down in recent months by his lawyers' unfounded claims of prosecutorial misconduct; a judge has already rejected those accusations."
"Flynn then asked to withdraw his guilty plea, which he first entered in December 2017," the Times added. "His case has become a cause celebre for Mr. Trump's supporters."
Progressive advocacy group Stand Up America tweeted Friday that Barr's decision to order a review of the Flynn case is "another in a long list of examples of extremely inappropriate political interference by this administration designed to advance the president's interests."
\u201cThis is another in a long list of examples of extremely inappropriate political interference by this administration designed to advance the president\u2019s interests. https://t.co/TuhPdnVqkm\u201d— Stand Up America (@Stand Up America) 1581706379
On Tuesday, all four career federal prosecutors handling the Stone case withdrew in protest after Barr intervened to reduce Stone's recommended prison sentence of seven to nine years. Numerous House Democrats are privately pushing for the prosecutors to testify before Congress, according to the Washington Post.
Barr's intervention in the Stone prosecution came hours after Trump tweeted that the sentence was "horrible and very unfair." In an interview with ABC News Thursday, Barr said the president has never ordered him to interfere in a criminal case.
Trump responded to Barr's interview with a tweet Friday morning insisting he has the "the legal right" to order the attorney general to intervene.
"I have so far chosen not to!" Trump claimed.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Attorney General William Barr has reportedly installed an outside prosecutor to scrutinize the criminal case against President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty in December of 2017 to lying to the FBI during the Russia probe.
Barr's move, reported Friday by the New York Times, comes as the attorney general is facing calls to resign over his decision to intervene in the case of Trump's longtime friend and confidant Roger Stone.
"The review is highly unusual and could trigger more accusations of political interference by top Justice Department officials into the work of career prosecutors," the Times noted. "Mr. Barr has also installed a handful of outside prosecutors to broadly review the handling of other politically sensitive national-security cases in the U.S. attorney's office in Washington."
\u201cMake no mistake - this is simply Attorney General Barr taking the cases away from my former office - the DC US Atty office - installing his former aide Timothy Shea as US Atty maybe not enough given the fight the office seems to have put over Roger Stone\n https://t.co/aLmr6udtbx\u201d— Shanlon Wu (@Shanlon Wu) 1581704893
"Barr is going to burn DOJ to the ground from the inside in his crusade to advance the president's political interests," MSNBC legal analyst Matthew Miller tweeted in response to the news.
The Times reported that the criminal case against Flynn "has been bogged down in recent months by his lawyers' unfounded claims of prosecutorial misconduct; a judge has already rejected those accusations."
"Flynn then asked to withdraw his guilty plea, which he first entered in December 2017," the Times added. "His case has become a cause celebre for Mr. Trump's supporters."
Progressive advocacy group Stand Up America tweeted Friday that Barr's decision to order a review of the Flynn case is "another in a long list of examples of extremely inappropriate political interference by this administration designed to advance the president's interests."
\u201cThis is another in a long list of examples of extremely inappropriate political interference by this administration designed to advance the president\u2019s interests. https://t.co/TuhPdnVqkm\u201d— Stand Up America (@Stand Up America) 1581706379
On Tuesday, all four career federal prosecutors handling the Stone case withdrew in protest after Barr intervened to reduce Stone's recommended prison sentence of seven to nine years. Numerous House Democrats are privately pushing for the prosecutors to testify before Congress, according to the Washington Post.
Barr's intervention in the Stone prosecution came hours after Trump tweeted that the sentence was "horrible and very unfair." In an interview with ABC News Thursday, Barr said the president has never ordered him to interfere in a criminal case.
Trump responded to Barr's interview with a tweet Friday morning insisting he has the "the legal right" to order the attorney general to intervene.
"I have so far chosen not to!" Trump claimed.
Attorney General William Barr has reportedly installed an outside prosecutor to scrutinize the criminal case against President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty in December of 2017 to lying to the FBI during the Russia probe.
Barr's move, reported Friday by the New York Times, comes as the attorney general is facing calls to resign over his decision to intervene in the case of Trump's longtime friend and confidant Roger Stone.
"The review is highly unusual and could trigger more accusations of political interference by top Justice Department officials into the work of career prosecutors," the Times noted. "Mr. Barr has also installed a handful of outside prosecutors to broadly review the handling of other politically sensitive national-security cases in the U.S. attorney's office in Washington."
\u201cMake no mistake - this is simply Attorney General Barr taking the cases away from my former office - the DC US Atty office - installing his former aide Timothy Shea as US Atty maybe not enough given the fight the office seems to have put over Roger Stone\n https://t.co/aLmr6udtbx\u201d— Shanlon Wu (@Shanlon Wu) 1581704893
"Barr is going to burn DOJ to the ground from the inside in his crusade to advance the president's political interests," MSNBC legal analyst Matthew Miller tweeted in response to the news.
The Times reported that the criminal case against Flynn "has been bogged down in recent months by his lawyers' unfounded claims of prosecutorial misconduct; a judge has already rejected those accusations."
"Flynn then asked to withdraw his guilty plea, which he first entered in December 2017," the Times added. "His case has become a cause celebre for Mr. Trump's supporters."
Progressive advocacy group Stand Up America tweeted Friday that Barr's decision to order a review of the Flynn case is "another in a long list of examples of extremely inappropriate political interference by this administration designed to advance the president's interests."
\u201cThis is another in a long list of examples of extremely inappropriate political interference by this administration designed to advance the president\u2019s interests. https://t.co/TuhPdnVqkm\u201d— Stand Up America (@Stand Up America) 1581706379
On Tuesday, all four career federal prosecutors handling the Stone case withdrew in protest after Barr intervened to reduce Stone's recommended prison sentence of seven to nine years. Numerous House Democrats are privately pushing for the prosecutors to testify before Congress, according to the Washington Post.
Barr's intervention in the Stone prosecution came hours after Trump tweeted that the sentence was "horrible and very unfair." In an interview with ABC News Thursday, Barr said the president has never ordered him to interfere in a criminal case.
Trump responded to Barr's interview with a tweet Friday morning insisting he has the "the legal right" to order the attorney general to intervene.
"I have so far chosen not to!" Trump claimed.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.