Judge dismisses Mike Flynn's prosecution after Donald Trump issues 'full pardon' to his fired national security advisor but warns it does NOT mean the general was innocent
A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed the criminal case against former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn, two weeks after a pardon from the president effectively ended the case.
The order from U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan was largely procedural in light of the pardon from President Donald Trump, which wiped away Flynn's conviction for lying to the FBI during the Russia investigation.
Sullivan made clear in a 43-page order that he was compelled to dismiss the case because of the pardon.
But he also stressed that a pardon, by itself, did not mean that Flynn was innocent. Flynn had twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts during the presidential transition period with the Russian ambassador.
President Trump pardoned Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser. Flynn is seen above with his lawyer Sidney Powell in September. Judge Emmet Sullivan said he was required to dismiss the case after the pardon. 'Because the law recognizes the President´s political power to pardon, the appropriate course is to dismiss this case as moot,' he ruled
'The history of the Constitution, its structure, and the Supreme Court´s interpretation of the pardon power make clear that President Trump´s decision to pardon Mr. Flynn is a political decision, not a legal one,' Sullivan wrote. 'Because the law recognizes the President´s political power to pardon, the appropriate course is to dismiss this case as moot.'
He called the Justice Department's arguments seeking to dismiss the case as 'dubious to say the least.'
Trump the day before Thanksgiving pardoned Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his calls with the Russian ambassador, only to later seek to withdraw the plea.
'It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon. Congratulations to @GenFlynn and his wonderful family, I know you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving!' Trump wrote on Twitter. 'Have a great life General Flynn!'
'We are forever appreciative to President Trump for giving back to Michael his freedom in undoing a hideous wrong,' Flynn's family said in a statement shared on his Twitter account.
He was represented by lawyer Sidney Powell, who has also put forward a conspiracy theory in a flurry of election lawsuits claiming Venezuela, Cuba, and China rigged voting machines that flipped votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden.
Judge Sullivan had kept the case alive even after the Justice Department dropped its prosecution – bringing in a retired judge to argue the opposing case.
Judge Emmet Sullivan dismissed the case 'as moot' according to his ruling
Trump announced the pardon last month
Three years ago Trump tweeted about firing Flynn
Flynn is the second Russia probe figure to get relief, after longtime Trump advisor Roger Stone, who avoided jail time after Trump granted him clemency.
Trump has long championed Flynn and used his prosecution to make the case that the FBI 'spied' on his campaign – although back in 2017 he fired Flynn after just weeks on the job after it was revealed he did not disclose his contacts with Russia's former ambassador to the U.S. to Vice President Mike Pence.
In a tweet almost three years ago – long before the Mueller probe Flynn cooperated with would wrap up and the House would impeach him, Trump wrote: 'I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!'
Flynn was on the job for just 24 days before Trump fired him.
U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan said a pardon did not mean Flynn was innocent
The information he lied about concerned his contacts with then Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak.
Flynn would later admit he lied when he denied talking to Kislyak about sanctions imposed by the outgoing Obama administration on Russia for election interference.
'It's no surprise that Trump would go out just as he came in – crooked to the end,' tweeted Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) immediately after the pardon.