Pardoning Gen. Michael Flynn

Yesterday, President Trump undid three years of judicial persecution. The object of Justice Department, FBI and judicial persecution was one Michael Flynn, a lieutenant general in the United States Army.

People do not often note the point, but in the Flynn case we saw a chapter in the culture war, between the legal profession and the military. The legal profession won many of the battles, but now has lost the war.

The Wall Street Journal editorialized this morning:

The FBI and Justice pursued him though they knew there was no basis for an investigation. They coerced a plea of lying to the FBI though the interviewing agents thought he was telling the truth. A later re-examination ordered by Attorney General Bill Barr found that Justice and the FBI had withheld exculpatory evidence. Former FBI director James Comey crowed about how the bureau took advantage of the unsuspecting Mr. Flynn and a trusting White House to have his agents interview him without courtesies normally extended to criminals.

When the Trump Justice Department moved to have the case dismissed, by saying that it would not prosecute, a rogue judge, in a disgrace to his office, did everything in his power, and even went beyond his power, to punish Flynn.

Justice finally moved to dismiss the charges this year, but then federal Judge Emmet Sullivan opted for political revenge by refusing to agree to the dismissal. He even tried to investigate the case himself—an extraordinary intrusion by a court into the executive branch’s prosecutorial power. His obvious goal was to stall long enough for a Biden Administration to take power and reinstate the charges. What a disgraceful performance.

Most news stories are emphasizing that Flynn pled guilty to lying to the FBI. They did not mention that he had been coerced into the plea and had withdrawn it.

As might be expected the Congressional Jewish Council, led by Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler and Richard Blumenthal was outraged. Even a Trump election defeat has not diminished their will to destroy.