Will General Michael Flynn be exonerated?

[ex-khobar Andy]

Other than his episode with the FBI what qualifies him for the "scum" designation.

Other than that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you like the play?

[BoSoxGal]

In other words, it was a frame-up.

[BoSoxGal]

Other than his episode with the FBI what qualifies him for the "scum" designation.

Other than that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you like the play?

Zactly!

[Bicycle Bill]

Here you go, Darren.  Mix yourself up another pitcher full.



-"BB"-

[Darren]

"One of the lead government attorneys in the prosecution of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn stepped down from the case Thursday without saying why, the latest surprise to come out of a case that President Donald Trump has criticized in recent days.

Brandon Van Grack, the chief of the Justice Department’s Foreign Agents Registration Act division, filed a notice of his withdrawal in federal court in Washington, less than a week after unsealed documents in the case fueled renewed claims by Flynn that FBI agents had cooked up a bogus case against him."

[Lord Jim]

[Darren]

"WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Thursday said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for Trump and his supporters in attacking the FBI’s Russia investigation.

The move is a stunning reversal for one of the signature cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. It comes even though prosecutors for the last three years had maintained that Flynn had lied to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador in a January 2017 interview. Flynn himself admitted as much, and became a key cooperator for Mueller as he investigated ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign."

[BoSoxGal]

Totally bogus and proof only that the DOJ under Barr is corrupt.

This is NOT an exoneration of Flynn.

[Darren]

Totally bogus and proof only that the DOJ under Barr is corrupt.

This is NOT an exoneration of Flynn.

Maybe you'll find the next phase of the unraveling more to your liking.

I wonder how much will unravel.

[Lord Jim]

Totally bogus and proof only that the DOJ under Barr is corrupt.

After new DOJ leadership is in place, this corrupt, anti-rule of law AG will have much to answer for...

As a general rule, I'm opposed to new Administrations launching a bunch of criminal investigations against the previous one for what are essentially policy disagreements (I well recall that after Obama was elected there were a bunch of Bush Derangement Syndrome libs running around like wet hens demanding criminal investigations against multiple Bush Administration officials. I was 100% opposed to this.)

But like so much with the most corrupt and criminal Presidential Administration in American history, there is a uniquely breath taking level of Constitution-trampling wrong-doing that goes way beyond mere policy differences. For the fundamental health of our democracy, an exception needs to made.

[Darren]

Take some time and compose yourselves. There's lots more to come.

[BoSoxGal]

What kind of person celebrates the descent of his country into banana republic status?

[Econoline]

Bananas Republicans?

[dales]

[RayThom]

Take some time and compose yourselves. There's lots more to come.

Tell us more, Carnac.

[Darren]

I thought I mentioned US Attorney Durham's prosecution of the FBI members that were tied to Whitey Bulger. The best I can do is recommend the biography. I read it a few months ago. I'll see if I can locate it.

Books are cheap off eBay. Read the book and Bulger's association with the FBI especially the approval process within the agency.

Seeing is believing. Read it for yourself and note the timeline when Bulger had it his way.

I realize my post topics may seem unconnected. That's not entirely true.

[Econoline]

I realize my post topics may seem unconnected to reality.

FTFY

[liberty]

Here you go, Darren.  Mix yourself up another pitcher full.



-"BB"-

BB, why do liberals try to use that Kool Aids drinking thing against none liberal? The only Kool Aid drinking I know of happened in Jones Town and those people were liberals. It was liberals that drank the Kool Aid.

[liberty]

Here you go, Darren.  Mix yourself up another pitcher full.



-"BB"-

BB, why do liberals try to use that Kool Aids drinking thing against none liberal? The only Kool Aid drinking I know of happened in Jones Town and those people were liberals. It was liberals that drank the Kool Aid.

[Darren]

Would you prefer dominoes or cards?

GOVERNMENT’S MOTION TO DISMISS THE CRIMINAL INFORMATION
AGAINST THE DEFENDANT MICHAEL T. FLYNN

The United States of America hereby moves to dismiss with prejudice the criminal
information filed against Michael T. Flynn pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure
48(a).

The Government has determined, pursuant to the Principles of Federal Prosecution and
based on an extensive review and careful consideration of the circumstances, that continued
prosecution of this case would not serve the interests of justice.
Mr. Flynn entered a guilty plea—which he has since sought to withdraw—to a single
count of making false statements in a January 24, 2017 interview with investigators of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”). See ECF Nos. 3-4. This crime, however, requires a
statement to be not simply false, but “materially” false with respect to a matter under
investigation. 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2). Materiality is an essential element of the offense.
Materiality, moreover, requires more than mere “relevance” or relatedness to the matter being
investigated; it requires “probative weight,” whereby the statement is “reasonably likely to
influence the tribunal in making a determination required to be made.” United States v.
Weinstock, 231 F.2d 699, 701 (D.C. Cir. 1956) (emphasis added).
Case 1:17-cr-00232-EGS Document 198 Filed 05/07/20 Page 1 of 20
2
After a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly
discovered and disclosed information appended to the defendant’s supplemental pleadings, ECF
Nos. 181, 188-190,1 the Government has concluded that the interview of Mr. Flynn was
untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn—a
no longer justifiably predicated investigation that the FBI had, in the Bureau’s own words,
prepared to close because it had yielded an “absence of any derogatory information.” Ex. 1 at 4,
FBI FD-1057 “Closing Communication” Jan. 4, 2017 (emphases added). The Government is not
persuaded that the January 24, 2017 interview was conducted with a legitimate investigative
basis and therefore does not believe Mr. Flynn’s statements were material even if untrue.
Moreover, we not believe that the Government can prove either the relevant false statements or
their materiality beyond a reasonable doubt.
“A determination to prosecute represents a policy judgment that the fundamental
interests of society require the application of federal criminal law to a particular set of
circumstances. . . .” Justice Manual § 9-27.001. In the Government’s assessment—mindful of
the high burden to prove every element of an offense beyond a reasonable doubt, and that
“government prosecutors have a duty to do justice,” United States v. Darui, 614 F. Supp. 2d 25,
37 (D.D.C. 2009)—continued prosecution of the charged crime does not serve a substantial
federal interest. The Government respectfully moves to dismiss the criminal information with
prejudice against Mr. Flynn.
1 This review not only included newly discovered and disclosed information, but also recently
declassified information as well.
Case 1:17-cr-00232-EGS Document 198 Filed 05/07/20 Page 2 of 20
3
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
The FBI opened a counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn on August 16, 2016,
“as part of the larger Crossfire Hurricane umbrella” investigation into the presidential campaign
of Donald J. Trump and its possible coordination with Russian officials to interfere with the 2016
presidential election. Ex. 1 at 3; Ex. 2 at 1-2, FBI FD-1057, “Opening of the CROSSFIRE
RAZOR Investigation,” Aug. 16, 2016. Code-named “Crossfire Razor,” the investigation’s
stated “goal” was to determine whether Mr. Flynn “was directed and controlled by and/or
coordinated activities with the Russian Federation in a manner which is a threat to the national
security and/or possibly a violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, 18 U.S.C. § 951 et
seq., or other related statutes.” Ex. 1 at 2; Ex. 2 at 2.
In addition to the predication for opening Crossfire Hurricane, which did not specifically
identify Mr. Flynn, the FBI predicated the counterintelligence investigation of him on “an
articulable factual basis” that consisted of three facts: Mr. Flynn’s service as a foreign policy
advisor to the Trump campaign, his publicly documented connection to state-affiliated Russian
entities, and the fact that he had traveled to Russia in December 2015. Ex. 1 at 3-4; Ex. 2 at 1-2.
After approximately four months of investigation, however, the FBI “determined that [Mr.
Flynn] was no longer a viable candidate as part of the larger Crossfire Hurricane umbrella case”
and prepared to close the investigation. Ex. 1 at 3. At some point prior to January 4, 2017, the
FBI drafted a “Closing Communication” to effect the termination of the case. See Ex. 1; Ex. 3 at
2, FBI FD-302, Interview of Mary McCord, July 17, 2017 (Date of Entry: Aug. 10, 2017). This
document noted the specific “goal” and predication for the investigation. Ex. 1 at 2. It laid out
the numerous searches of holdings and investigative steps that had at each step yielded “no
derogatory information” on Mr. Flynn. Ex. 1 at 2-3 (emphasis added); see also id. at 5 (noting
Case 1:17-cr-00232-EGS Document 198 Filed 05/