Michael Flynn Wins; D.C. Circuit Orders Case Dismissed

by Kristina Wong

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled 2-1 Wednesday that a lower court must grant a request by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to drop its case against former National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn (Ret.).

Flynn won his request for a writ of mandamus ordering Judge Emmet Sullivan to grant the DOJ’s motion last month.

The appeals court order states:

Upon consideration of the emergency petition for a writ of mandamus, the responses thereto, and the reply, the briefs of amici curiae in support of the parties, and the argument by counsel, it is ORDERED that Flynn’s petition for a writ of mandamus be granted in part; the District Court is directed to grant the government’s Rule 48(a) motion to dismiss; and the District Court’s order appointing an amicus is hereby vacated as moot, in accordance with the opinion of the court filed herein this date.

The appeals court judges in the case were: Karen Henderson, Robert Wilkins and Neomi Rao. Wilkins is a former President Obama appointee, Rao is a President Trump appointee, and Henderson is a former President George H.W. Bush appointee.

BREAKING – DC Circuit Court of Appeals rules Michael Flynn case can end and DOJ’s request to drop charges be accepted by the federal district court. pic.twitter.com/qPWmyZlO6M

— Darren Samuelsohn (@dsamuelsohn) June 24, 2020

Rao states in her majority decision:

[T]his is plainly not the rare case where further judicial inquiry is warranted. To begin with, Flynn agrees with the government’s motion to dismiss, and there has been no allegation that the motion reflects prosecutorial harassment. Additionally, the government’s motion includes an extensive discussion of newly discovered evidence casting Flynn’s guilt into doubt.