Politics

BREAKING: DOJ Drops Case Against Michael Flynn

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The Justice Department dropped its case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Thursday, the Associated Press reported.

Flynn pleaded guilty on Dec. 1, 2017 to making false statements to the FBI during an interview on Jan. 24, 2017.

The decision comes after the Justice Department found FBI documents related to the Flynn investigation that Flynn’s lawyers say are evidence that investigators set a perjury trap for the retired lieutenant general.

Flynn broke his silence in his case on Jan. 29, 2020, saying in a court filing that he did not lie to the FBI and that he “regret[s]” pleading guilty in his case. He said he entered the plea deal because prosecutors had threatened to prosecute his son.

The FBI turned over a Jan. 4, 2017 memo which recommended closing a counterintelligence investigation into whether Flynn was working as a Russian agent. Peter Strzok, the deputy chief of counterintelligence, intervened to keep the case open.

Prosecutors also provided Flynn’s lawyers with a handwritten note from Jan. 24, 2017, in which Bill Priestap questioned whether the goal of a Flynn interview was to get him to lie to the FBI.

Brandon Van Grack, a lead prosecutor on the Flynn case, withdrew from the case earlier on Thursday.