Saturday, May 9, 2020

Justice for Michael Flynn

As it happened, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn opposed the Obama administration’s Iran nuclear deal. As a senior intelligence official in the Obama administration, he could not be allowed to do that. So, to save Obama’s sellout to the mullahs and his support for state sponsored terrorism, Michael Flynn had to be destroyed.

Let us weigh out words carefully. The James Comey-led FBI, the Obama foreign policy apparatchiks, the Robert Mueller prosecutors were not interested in debating any issue. They were not interested in deliberating. They were certainly not interested in allowing the duly elected Trump administration to conduct foreign policy.

Instead, they tried to take out Michael Flynn. They tried to destroy him, to bankrupt him, to threaten his son with prison. And this, as a wise commenter reminded me this morning, from the group that touts its superior capacity for empathy.

No empathy for Michael Flynn. And no empathy for Brett Kavanaugh. The radical American left has nothing to contribute to the national debate. So, it has set out to destroy people, beginning with Donald Trump, and his family and his associates and his nominees. See also a prior post on sadistic empaths. It is the recourse of the powerless. Those who do not know how to build work tirelessly to destroy what others have built.

It is not about the rule of law. It is a sadistic exercise worthy of Storm Troopers. It is profoundly unamerican. And it has nothing to do with the rule of law. You know that the sanctimonious hypocrites of the radical left are out in force denouncing Attorney General Barr for having dropped charges against Michael Flynn. Clearly, they fear being caught in the headlights and being prosecuted themselves. 

So, for the legalities of the case, I report the views of two fair minded and non-partisan writers, Eli Lake for Bloomberg and Alan Dershowitz for the Gatestone Institute. Lake has been on the story and has been right on the story from the beginning. Dershowitz brings us his legal expertise on these matters.

Lake explains the details of the dismissal motion:

In a motion to dismiss the case against him, U.S. Attorney Timothy Shea argued that the FBI had no basis under which to interview Flynn, that agents who interviewed him did not believe he lied, and that what he told those agents on Jan. 24, 2017, had no material effect on the bureau’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.

“Mr. Flynn’s request that Russia avoid ‘escalating’ tensions in response to U.S. sanctions in an effort to mollify geopolitical tensions was consistent with him advocating for, not against, the interests of the United States,” Shea wrote. “At bottom, the arms-length communications gave no indication that Mr. Flynn was being ‘directed and controlled by … the Russian federation,’ much less in a manner that ‘threatened … national security.’”

What could be more appalling than the canard, circulated widely by the media elite and by numerous members of Congress, that the Trump administration was colluding with Russia. Then again, we know well that the Obama administration bent over to do the bidding of Vladimir Putin and to elevate his status. Have you noticed that, since the advent of the Trump presidency, there has been very little talk about Putin?

Shea found the decision to continue with the case risible. “The FBI sidestepped a modest but critical protection that constrains the investigative reach of law enforcement: the predication threshold for investigating American citizens,” he wrote.

By keeping the investigation open, the FBI was able to secure an interview with Flynn without going through the proper channels at the White House. “The irregular procedure that preceded his interview, suggests that the FBI was eager to interview Mr. Flynn, irrespective of any underlying investigation,” Shea wrote. In other words, the FBI was more interested in catching Flynn in a lie than in investigating an actual crime.

Anyway, Flynn made a deal with Robert Mueller’s office, without having the relevant information and in order to spare his son from prosecution:

All of this is important because almost a year after that interview, Flynn pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the FBI in a deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. In exchange for cooperation and a side agreement not to pursue charges against his son, the special counsel agreed to recommend a lenient sentence.

At the time, Flynn did not know about all the shortcuts, missteps and irregularities in the FBI’s investigation into him. What’s more, the FBI agents who interviewed him at the time did not even think he was lying. Shea writes: “The statements in question were not by their nature easily falsifiable. In his interview, Mr. Flynn offered either equivocal (‘I don’t know’) or indirect responses, or claimed to not remember the matter in question.”

And, Mueller’s lawyers issued a series of appalling threats against a man who had served at the highest levels of the American military. I find it likely that the Obama satraps, what with their visceral dislike and distrust of the military, was more than happy to attack it through the person of Michael Flynn. 

Instead, Flynn faced the full brunt of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. He was threatened with enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act for minor omissions in his contract to represent a Turkish businessman who Flynn later admitted was standing in for the government of Turkey. In September a judge threw out the prosecution of his business partner in a separate case brought by the Justice Department. His son was also threatened with prosecution. After fighting the case for nearly a year, Flynn wanted the nightmare to be over.

Lake concludes:

But it’s also fair to ask why, just before a new president took office and against its own investigators’ recommendation, the FBI’s leadership kept the case open without proper predication. Equality under the law is a bedrock American principle. So is the peaceful transfer of power.

Now, Alan Dershowitz weighs in, following the single principle that has brought him to denounce the legal tactics brought by Democrats against the Trump administration. I think it fair to say, and to say clearly, that Dershowitz is arguing for a single set of standards, one that would be applied equally and fairly to all of the accused. When you have one set of standards applied to Democrats and one applied to Republicans, you are effectively living in two countries.

Anyway, here is Dershowitz for the defense:

More than a year ago I wrote that it was clear General Michael Flynn should never have pleaded guilty because he did not commit a crime. Even if he lied to the FBI, his lie was not "material." For a lie to be a crime under federal law, it must be material to the investigation – meaning that the lies pertain to the issues being legitimately investigated. The role of the FBI is to investigate past crimes, not to create new ones. 

Because the FBI investigators already knew the answer to the question they asked him—whether he had spoken to the Russian Ambassador—their purpose was not to elicit new information relevant to their investigation, but rather to spring a perjury trap on him. When they asked Flynn the question, they had a recording of his conversation with the Russian, of which he was presumably unaware. So his answer was not material to the investigation because they already had the information about which they were inquiring.

It was pure entrapment, served for political ends, even though it was only designed to destroy a man’s life.

You will have noted that the mainstream media is presenting the story today by stating that Flynn admitted to lying to the FBI. It is typical of biased reporting, and shows, Dershowitz says, a malicious intent. Just because one is trapped and bullied into admitting to a lie, that does not mean that one has committed a lie.

Some may wonder why an innocent man would ever plead guilty. Anyone who knows how the system works in practice would understand why an innocent man—or a defendant in a close case—might be coerced into pleading guilty. The cruel reality is that if a defendant pleads not guilty and is found guilty, the sentence will be far greater than if he had pled guilty—perhaps even 10 times greater. Moreover, in this case, it is alleged that the government threatened, if Flynn did not plead guilty, to indict his son. 

These are the kinds of pressures routinely used by prosecutors. Civil libertarians have long been critical of these pressures, but fair-weather civil libertarians refuse to object when these improper tactics are used against Trump's associates. Partisan hypocrisy reigns.

Dershowitz concludes:

The time has come, indeed it is long overdue, to de-politicize our criminal justice system and to forbid it from becoming weaponized by either side for partisan purposes. Dropping the case against General Flynn is an important first step, but it cannot be the last if we are to restore the criminal justice system to its rightful place as a non-partisan institution of justice.

5 comments:

Ignatius Acton Chesterton OCD said...

Roger Simon, from his book “I Know Best: How Moral Narcissism Is Destroying Our Republic, If It Hasn’t Already“ —

“What you believe, or claim to believe or say you believe—not what you do or how you act or what the results of your actions may be—defines you as a person and makes you “good.” It is how your life will be judged by others and by yourself…

If your intentions are good, if they conform to the general received values of your friends, family, and co-workers, what a person of your class and social milieu is supposed to think, everything is fine. You are that “good” person. You are ratified. You can do anything you wish. It doesn’t matter in the slightest what the results of those ideas and beliefs are, or how society, the country, and in some cases, the world suffers from them. It doesn’t matter that they misfire completely, cause terror attacks, illness, death, riots in the inner city, or national bankruptcy. You will be applauded and approved of.”

Simon’s is a great capture of the social pathology we’re dealing with. It’s not results or actions, it’s about beliefs and good intentions. The self-congratulation of the morally magnificent.

The party of empathy, indeed. And the party of science, advocating endless lockdowns and quarantines of healthy people, causing 26 million to lose their jobs.

These are the smart people. These are the just. After all, they went to the best colleges and attend the best cocktail parties with the most erudite and beautiful people.

Note: I believe the Flynn dismissal sets in motion a chain of events that will expose the fullness of the Obama Administration’s corruption that was launched with the January 5, 2017 Oval Office meeting. And that exposure comes none too soon. Aside from the coronapocalypse, this will make the 2020 election season more vitriolic and dangerous.

Leftists are destroyers.

Sam L. said...

THIS is why I keep saying that Mr. Trump needs to don his Hercules outfit and divert the Potomac River thru the FBI building...and any executive branch building he thinks also need sluicing out.

UbuMaccabee said...

All of this: the illegal use of the intelligence services, the legal warfare, the endless leaking to and lying in the press, and the bullying of every last person connected to Donald Trump goes right back to one person: Barack Obama. He and Brennan are up to their eyes in this. No question they knew and authorized it. This is the greatest crime in US history; it really was an attempt to negate a popular election with the power of the deep state and a compliant media. America has just had a coup attempt.

A little late for rule of law now, Alan. I want blood. When the people involved in this get a good taste of the power of a partisan federal government wrecking their lives, fortunes and reputations, then we can have stasis, until then--no deal. You've got them on the ground, now break their ankles and impose your will on the traitors.

A special counsel should be appointed. Sidney Powell seems a good choice. Unlimited $, unlimited resources, open scope of investigation. Create a conservative goon squad of lawyers to drag every swamp creature involved in this out into the light. Long prison sentences, no mercy, family and friends are all fair game. Same tactics as Weissmann and his dirtbags. Go back 30 years if you need to. You'll be swimming in singing canaries in days when the tasselled loafer crown gets a whiff of prison.

Put Flynn in charge of the FBI.

Ignatius Acton Chesterton OCD said...

I’m with Ubu.

I would give Obama a pass, and that is my personal opinion —I think it would be impossible to settle scores with the titular head of the prior Administration without inviting political retribution going forward. I don’t want to see a previous POTUS prosecuted. I think it’s a dangerous precedent. It’s not good for the country, as much as I loathe that empty suit of a Manchurian loser.

Having said that, I do believe this instance is unique, and it is grave and disgraceful. Let me be clear: I still believe Lincoln’s solution to the military situation from the American Civil War was magnanimous, gracious, and — most of all — SENSIBLE in light of the national desire for reconstruction and reunification. I personally think that radicals on either end of that situation at that time period are verifiable lunatics, if not fools.

But the bargain — the de facto “pardoning” (de facto or de jure) of Obama — would be complete, and eliminate the symbolic decapitation. It would open the opportunity for complete, unlimited warfare (vigilant, relentless) prosecution on/of Obama’s lieutenants. Those directly associated. Even if you lost the case, the precedent would be set — do not EVER, NEVER, EVER, NEVER AGAIN conduct warfare/lawfare and bureaucratic war on the duly elected President of the United States of America. Even if they are not convicted — even if they do not serve prison times — people like Brennan, Clapper, Comey, McCabe, Power, Rice, etc. (and all their disgraced deputies) ought never be able to seek, occupy or benefit from Federal office again.

Ever.

That is my standard for house cleaning. Show the D.C. lunatics it’s just not in play. You try to cleverly take down a duly-elected American Government, you pay the price. A grave, total price.

Again, I am with Ubu in spirit, just tempered in application — with the same result (save Obama’s head). And believe me, I am a savage, as Stuart can attest. I am totally in favor of the Grant/Sherman/Sheridan approach to this kind of warfare — political or otherwise (as not one of these generals was at all political in 1865). We have to be fully conscious of what we’ll be left with as this plays out.

I just believe we are — and must remain — an American nation.

I believe too few have been able to get away with too much for too long. Time to set the record straight — on borders, immigration, economic security, MainStreet economy. That’s the Trump agenda.

We must continue to function as we were — this is a reflection of the rebellion against pandemic measures. We’re all willing to sacrifice for the sake of real emergency, just not a nebulous, unending emergency. What’s the endgame? It cannot be the quarantining of the healthy to serve the needs of the sick or potentially infected. That’s insane.

I would love to see the refined Star Chamber Tribunals begin for the top Obama coup plotters. Prosecute them under RICO. Go full out. Make their lives Hell, just as they did with LTG Michael Flynn. Make them beg for mercy. Ruin them financially. After all, it’s just money. As McCabe showed, they’ll get a GoFundMe campaign.

Go through the whole process.

And then pardon them.

Pardon them. For the good out the country and as a warning to all those in the future. The most egregious (in my opinion, Brennan and McCabe) go to jail for a long time. Full out criminal prosecutions. But the rest remain free citizens — though never to be employed in, serve in, call on, or serve people in the public sector ever again. Banish them from Government work. Quarantine them from Government.

That is my May 9 assessment of justice for these scoundrels. My first attempt. It may change, but that’s where I am today.

Happy Mother’s Day to all who gave us life. It is a beautiful thing.

UbuMaccabee said...

Find me a single monarch in European history who, after a full-on attempt to take down their government, would have failed to retaliate against the plotters with great cruelty and ferocity. Find me a single world-historical figure in power who would not have cleared the field, and put many heads on spikes. I cannot. That is how it is done. Ask Queen Elizabeth (the Tudor) how it gets done when you find yourself surrounded by adversaries and usurpers.

The only reason you put your enemies close is that you cannot act just yet, but they will be executed in time. But execute them all you will. We don't execute, we give them the Harvey Weinstein treatment and encourage them to kill themselves, like another fellow who died recently under mysterious circumstances.

Even democratically elected governments must retaliate. I cannot imagine any of the great British parliamentarians would have failed to respond with great prejudice against an organized effort to take down their government at the moment of inception. Wellington? Gladstone? You'd better leave England, post haste.

Trump has played the fox very well, and he has avoided their traps. Trump has been more careful and clever than they are; he is to be admired for just how well he played his hand. But now time for Trump to show the Lion to his enemies. They must fear for their lives of they will just form another pack of assassins.

I see no value in mercy; it is just weakness. Mercy can only be granted to a supplicant. They are still in open defiance. Destroy them, all of them. Let Barr talk about rule of law, hypnotize the people, but behind the empty words, the iron laws of nature should be applied.

Obama is the target. The goal is to destroy him; ruin him and everything associated with him. Make a list, take them all out.