Michael Flynn Controversy: More Than 1,100 Former Prosecutors Rip Justice Department Attempt To Drop Charges

More than 1,100 former prosecutors have slammed an attempt by the Department of Justice under Attorney General William Barr to drop criminal charges against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. The remarks are part of a legal brief by The Protect Democracy Project, an organization formed in 2017 “to prevent American Democracy from declining into a more authoritarian form of government”

“The government’s request in this case does not appear to advance the interests of justice or the public, nor does it appear to be free of impermissible and unlawful taint,” the prepared filing seen by Reuters says. The brief will be filed in a federal court in Washington, D.C.

The prosecutors say the request to drop the Flynn case “appears to serve President Trump’s personal political interests, rather than the interests of the public.”

Former Acting Attorney General Stuart Gerson, who served under Bill Clinton, along with former Deputy Attorney General Donald Ayer, who served under George H.W. Bush, were two of the figures supporting the brief.

Flynn's situation has caused a stir on Capitol Hill. Flynn served as National Security Adviser at the beginning of President Trump’s term in 2017, but resigned after leaks suggested that he misled the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about his contact with then-Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak. In December 2017, Flynn made a deal with Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller to plead guilty to lying to the FBI, with other possible charges, such as undisclosed foreign lobbying, taken off the table.

In January, Flynn asked a judge to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea. His attorneys have accused prosecutors of "bad faith, vindictiveness, and breach of the plea agreement."

Earlier this month, the Justice Department requested to dismiss the criminal case against Flynn. Trump applauded the move, and claims that Flynn’s charges were part of a conspiracy by Obama to sabotage his administration. Trump has dubbed the unfounded allegations “Obamagate,” and has called it the “biggest political crime and scandal in the history of the USA.”

Trump has frequently railed against the special counsel's Russia investigation. The investigation neither implicated nor exonerated Trump on obstruction of justice.