May 7, 2020

The DOJ has asked the judge to drop all charges against Michael Flynn, claiming that there was no legitimate investigative reason for them to interview him about the subjects he admitted to lying about.

In a 108-page document filed Thursday, the Justice Department said “after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information... the government has concluded that [Flynn’s interview by the FBI] was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn” and that the interview on January 24, 2017 was “conducted without any legitimate investigative basis.”

Of course, people lie all the time about things like that, right? No. The autocracy has spoken and exonerated Flynn of a crime he confessed to. They just figured out a way to do it without having to have Trump issue a pardon. Bill Barr is just Trump's fixer these days.

Here is CNN reporter Shimon Prokupecz sorting out the Orwellian logic:

[DOJ] says that the Michael Flynn interview, remember that controversial interview of what really became controversial certainly under this Attorney General, they say that should never have taken place. It was covered extensively. I was covering the story with Michael Flynn, was arrested the morning he surrendered and remember when Michael Flynn pleaded guilty, decided to cooperate. The Department of Justice under this Attorney General Barr saying none of this should have happened, essentially, the FBI should have never interviewed Michael Flynn. They weren't justified to do the interview and therefore, now, this case, they can no longer go forward with this he cooperated with the government.

Apparently the fact that Flynn pleaded guilty to charges of lying to the FBI and agreed to cooperate doesn't matter. Bill Barr and Donald Trump are determined to corrupt the justice system as completely as possible. And there's this, too:

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Honig was furious.

The fix is in. This is an absolute injustice, but like Shimon said, you could see this coming. Michael Fynn lied to the FBI, he pled guilty under oath in federal court to doing that, he took a plea, and then what does Bill Barr do? He says of all the tens of thousands of cases he's been in charges of in the Department of Justice, look at that one. Let's take a closer look. Not coincidentally the one the president has railing on for months and years now, and now we see Bill Barr doing Donald Trump's dirty work. Now Donald Trump is not going to have to issue a pardon, because Bill Barr has stepped in and taken this really unprecedented step. I've never seen anything like this in my 14 years as a federal or state prosecutor.

There is some question about whether the judge could still sentence Flynn in spite of Barr's move, but it's unlikely. The more likely scenario is that Flynn's plea bargain is negated, the charges are dropped, and he goes free with nary a care and a federal pension.

It is indeed a portent of things to come:

There are many more like that. This is my take: Trump is going to burn everything down between now and November because he has nothing to lose. His magical economy is shattered, people are dying, he's losing support every day, and so he's deploying his "what do I have to lose?" strategy, which is to snatch, grab and burn everything he can.

UPDATE: Adam Schiff weighs in:

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