Judge invites outside input on Flynn case

The federal judge presiding over Michael Flynn’s case did not immediately accept the U.S. Department of Justice’s motion to drop charges against the former national security adviser. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan decided on Tuesday to allow outside individuals and organizations to submit amicus briefs.

What does this mean for Flynn? Such friend-of-the-court briefs are rare in criminal cases. The move likely will delay Flynn’s potential exoneration. The Justice Department said the judge should drop the charges after recently unsealed documents showed FBI agents entrapped Flynn. In December 2017, he pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about conversations he had with a Russian diplomat about U.S. sanctions on Russia. The case became a prominent milestone in the investigation into whether Donald Trump’s campaign colluded with Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. An attorney for Flynn argued that the judge should not consider outside individuals’ views on the case.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Stew about the documents’ new revelations in the Flynn case.