Michael Flynn remains in legal purgatory. And now his fate is back in the court of noted anti-Trump jester Emmet Sullivan. The judge who called Flynn a traitor in open court. The judge who said he would hand down a sentence much harsher than what was being recommended. The judge who saw the entire prosecution collapse around him, and then got a retired buddy to fight the Department of Justice motion to drop the criminal charges against the former general. The judge who invited every anti-Trump legal kook to file an amicus brief in a move that one could arguably call extortion of the prosecution. It’s quasi-mob rule. Oh, and let’s not forget the Obama DOJ memo that all but exonerated Flynn of being a Russian agent that was drafted six days after his initial FBI interview in January 2017. There is no case, but Judge Sully now has made it official to hold off until after the 2020 election.
Was this the game plan from the beginning? Maybe. In May, the New York Sun had an editorial that pretty much detailed what Sully was up to with his "fight to the death" mentality over this case. Hold out at all costs, pray for a Biden win, and then have a Democratic-run DOJ drop the motion to nix the Flynn charges:
The decision of a United States judge to stall America’s motion to drop its case against General Michael Flynn appears calculated to delay the matter until after November. That’s how it looks, at least to us, in the wake of the judge’s decision to invite outside parties to file friend-of-the court briefs on what to do next. Could it be that the judge hopes the Democrats will win the election and, come January, drop the motion to drop the case?
In offering that line of speculation — and that’s all it is — we do not intend to question the integrity of the judge, Emmet Sullivan. We see as long-overdue and courageous Attorney General Barr’s decision to move to dismiss the case against General Flynn. The judge, though, has had a long and distinguished career on the bench. He was elevated to his several judgeships by Presidents Reagan, George Bush ’41, and Clinton.
Nor was it was ever, in our view, a foregone conclusion that the judge would grant America’s motion to end the case against the general, even if the betting around the courthouse is that the judge, in the long run, has few options but to grant the motion. After all, there is no longer an actual case or controversy, which is the only thing the Constitution grants the courts the power to decide.
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Note, though, our caveat “in the long run.” What Judge Sullivan did today was issue a written order saying the court “anticipates that individuals and organizations will seek leave of the Court to file amicus curiae briefs” in the case. He must have been reading the op-ed pages. His order is practically an engraved invitation to the entire industry devoted to destroying the Trump presidency to pile on against the general.
Sounded like tin foil hat stuff in May, right? Well, sometimes trusting your instincts leads to the right decision. Lo and behold that’s what happened:
Flynn update -
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) September 1, 2020
Judge Sullivan has effectively pushed back the resolution of the Flynn case until after the election.
Ordered a status report (with briefing schedule) by September 21. This will include a proposed oral argument date. pic.twitter.com/9pueIgeQ9l
Flynn update - here is the order denying the mandamus.
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) August 31, 2020
The case goes back to Judge Sullivan.
The opinion ends with these words:
"we expect the District Court to proceed with appropriate dispatch." ?? pic.twitter.com/CQouaOhGzq
As we’ve noted here before, the anti-Trump resistance doesn’t die off so easily.
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