US District Judge Emmet Sullivan on Tuesday slowed the Justice Department's effort to drop its case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Sullivan's order came after lawyers representing 16 Watergate special prosecutors filed a brief disputing the DOJ's abrupt and highly unusual motion to drop Flynn's case.US District Judge Emmet Sullivan pumped the brakes Tuesday on the Justice Department's motion to drop its case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Such filings, known as amicus briefs, "should normally be allowed when a party is not represented ... has an interest in some other case that may be affected," or "has unique information or perspective that can help the court," Sullivan wrote.Flynn's defense lawyer, Sidney Powell, quickly pushed back on Sullivan's order, saying in a filing that a criminal case is "a dispute between the United States and a criminal defendant.
Flynn initially cooperated with prosecutors but later shifted course and hired Powell, who took a more combative stance, urging the court to dismiss the DOJ's case against Flynn and accusing the department of prosecutorial misconduct. They pointed, specifically, to the fact that Flynn had already pleaded guilty and acknowledged his wrongdoing several times, weakening the department's claim last week that it could not legally bring a case against the former national security adviser.
The deep state is real.