The U.S. Justice Department abruptly asked a judge on Thursday to drop criminal charges against Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn following mounting pressure from the Republican president and his political allies on the right.
The Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss the charges with U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan, who has presided over the case and has a reputation for fierce independence. Judges generally grant such motions, but Sullivan could demand answers from the department about its reversal or even deny the motion and sentence Flynn, a less likely scenario.
Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general who served as an adviser to Trump during the 2016 campaign, had been seeking to withdraw his 2017 guilty plea in which he admitted to lying to the FBI about his interactions with Russia's U.S. ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the weeks before Trump took office.
According to the indictment, Flynn in December 2016 – after Trump won the election but before he took office – discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with Kislyak and asked him to help delay a U.N. vote seen as damaging to Israel, a move contrary to then-President Barack Obama's policies.
Flynn previously headed the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency but he was forced out in 2014 in part due to his management style and opinions on how to combat Islamist militancy. He joined Trump's 2016 campaign and at the Republican National Convention led chants of "Lock her up," referring to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Sullivan at a 2018 hearing expressed "disgust" and "disdain" toward Flynn's criminal offense, saying, "Arguably, you sold your country out."
Trump, who had publicly attacked the case against Flynn and has frequently castigated the FBI, said he was "very happy" for his former aide, adding, "yes, he was a great warrior, and he still is a great warrior. Now in my book he's an even greater warrior." Trump said in March he was considering a full pardon and accused the FBI and Justice Department of having "destroyed" Flynn's life and that of his family.
The president said on April 30 that he would consider bringing Flynn back into his administration without specifying which role he might give to him.
Shortly before the Flynn motion was filed on Thursday, career prosecutor Brandon Van Grack withdrew from the case and other related legal matters. He remains a Justice Department employee, a department spokeswoman said.