DOJ just dropped all charges against Mike Flynn.
Oh, great. So now they’ll reverse Barry Bonds’ conviction for lying to the FBI, too, right?
Right?!
I don’t think that’s possible. He’s already pleaded to the charges. Absent a court’s judgment setting aside the plea for some actual reason, he is convicted.
All that’s left is sentencing. I don’t see Judge Emmet Sullivan ignoring that. Remember, he actually asked the prosecutors at the previous time of sentencing if they had considered charges for treason. (He walked it back later, but he did inquire.) My understanding is that a motion to withdraw Flynn’s plea is pending but I don’t see a date yet set for hearing it.
I see where Reuters is reporting that lead prosecutor, Brandon Van Grack, has withdrawn from the case without explanation (though one could make some educated guesses)… but that’s not the same thing as a judge setting aside or allowing withdrawal of a plea. (IANAL.)
Just read in another thread where Flynn was granted his motion to withdraw. Somehow I missed that, and I’m stunned it was permitted by Sullivan. But… there ya go.
Speculation on how long before Trump rehires Flynn?
And I wonder if the DOJ dropped any pending charges against Flynn and his son for conspiracy to kidnap and rendition a legal resident of the USA? (The Guardian)
(Note: This is an old article.)
If I were Gülen, I’d be making my plans to move to Mozambique.
The prosecution has dropped the case, and there was never a sentencing.
Meanwhile, in case it was missed, Trump just hired a megadonor to become the acting postmaster general.
I mean, what could possibly go wrong with mail-in voting?
That’s not how it works. The conviction occurs at the time the plea is accepted, just as a guilty verdict is rendered by a jury even if sentencing has not yet taken place.
Let’s do some dot connecting:
John Ratcliffe, Trump loyalist and QAnon follower, is now the director of national intelligence.
Bill Barr has essentially turned the Department of Justice into a political arm of the Trump White House, exonerating loyalists and threatening critics. And speaking of intelligence:
He is turning the federal workforce into a bureaucracy based on fealty to the president rather than public service:
And of course this:
https://www.axios.com/trump-donor-usps-postmaster-general-d51c2de2-ac31-44be-8929-b1d9d4853c81.html
In other words, hire the guy who knows absolutely nothing about the post office, but who probably knows how to cut staff. Think COVID-19 response: the post office version. Just in time to fuck up mail-in voting.
I’m not a legal scholar, by any means, but is the DOJ basically saying here that they can’t prove a case against a man who admitted to the crime in court?
You’ve got it right.
Truly, this is just nuts. The DOJ can’t drop charges that were already adjudicated. I’ll bet Judge Sullivan is blowing a gasket about now. Barr can move to drop the case, but I see no compelling reason for Judge Sullivan to grant that motion.
DOJ is pretending that agents misleading suspects during interviews/interrogations is a novel thing. It’s perfectly legal, done all the time. It’s law enforcement in action. Any cop/lawyer/judge knows this. Presumably someone qualified to be the National Security Advisor knows it, too.
The best way to avoid being charged with lying to the FBI? Don’t fucking lie to the FBI.
IANAL, but I thought it wasn’t actually in the books as conviction until the initial sentencing phase is finished. I recall that Ken Lay, of Enron fame, was initially convicted but died before sentencing and thus died with a clean record - or was the rag that I read at the time bullshitting me?
Without reviewing the particulars of what happened in the Lay case, I can’t say procedurally what happened there. But procedure was my bailiwick in my courtroom years.
Prosecutors can drop charges up to the time that a judge accepts a plea or a jury renders a verdict. At that point, the defendant is lawfully convicted, even though sentencing is commonly delayed to allow the probation department to submit a sentencing recommendation, as well as the prosecutors and defense attorneys.
If you’ve ever watched a judge take a plea, you’ll appreciate the litany of questions they ask to ensure the plea was made freely, voluntarily, not under the influence of drugs/alcohol, not under duress and yada yada yada. In high profile cases, judges take even more care to safeguard the conviction. There’s probably a transcript of Sullivan taking Flynn’s plea and you can see how involved the process is.
In another thread I posted this story which clarifies the status of things: DOJ moves to drop the case against Flynn. (Reuters)
Note that DOJ is moving the court to drop the charges. DOJ no longer has jurisdiction to do this unilaterally. Because a plea was entered and accepted. Even though sentencing has not yet occurred.
Missed the edit window:
If the judge had allowed Flynn to withdraw his plea, then yes – the DOJ would again have the authority to drop the charges, and that’s what I thought had happened.
So I did a search to see when the motion was heard, because I wasn’t aware it had been. Seemed like it would be big news if Judge Sullivan had permitted a plea withdrawal after the comments he made at the prior sentencing hearing that got continued in December.
There are now 3 pending motions before Judge Sullivan: 1) Flynn’s motion to withdraw his plea; 2) Van Grack’s motion to withdraw as counsel for the DOJ in the Flynn case; and 3) DOJ’s motion to drop the charges. I don’t believe a date has been set for hearing these motions, but I’ll bet there will be soon – and they’ll all be heard on the same day. Barr better send someone besides Van Grack to argue the DOJ’s motion.
I would never say I wish ill to anyone, but I dearly hope that valet licks all the food before he serves it.
I hope he passes it to two persons.
Best-case scenario for the country: Chump and Pence both catch and die from Covid-19, then Pelosi becomes president.
Thanks for the insights!
Everything I know about valets I learned from Downton Abbey where the guy helps His Lordship dress, shaves him, combs his hair, ties his tie, and other personal (ewww!) tasks. What are the duties of the poor bastard assigned to be trump’s personal valet?
nm
Fake tan, trowel.
Where would a Navy SEAL have learned how to deal with that dead rodent Trump wears on his head?
How could he not say “Sir, please purchase a suit that FITS. And may I shorten your necktie?”
Also, extensive reading of Wodehouse and Sayers taught me that the proper term for a valet is “gentleman’s gentleman.” God knows no one has EVER called Trump a “gentleman.”