Washington - President Donald Trump's
former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who previously
pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, asked a US appeals court
on Tuesday to force a judge to dismiss the criminal case against
him as requested by the Justice Department.
The department's May 7 reversal in the case drew accusations
from Democrats and retired career prosecutors that Attorney
General William Barr was politicizing the US criminal justice
system to benefit Trump's friends and associates.
In an emergency petition, Flynn's lawyers asked that the
US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia order Judge
Emmet Sullivan to grant the department's request to dismiss the
case. Sullivan last week signaled reluctance to drop the
charges, appointing a retired judge to advise whether Flynn
should face an additional criminal contempt charge for perjury.
Flynn, who also advised Trump's 2016 presidential campaign,
pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about his
conversations with Russia's ambassador in Washington, but later
sought to withdraw his plea and accused the FBI of tricking him.
The Justice Department's decision to ask Sullivan to drop the
charges followed public pressure from Trump and the Republican
president's political allies.
Flynn's petition also argued that, if there are further
proceedings, the case should be reassigned to another judge,
adding that Sullivan's conduct "bespeaks a judge who is not only
biased against Petitioner, but also revels in the notoriety he
has created."
Sullivan in 2018 expressed "disgust" and "disdain" toward
Flynn's criminal offense, saying: "Arguably, you sold your
country out."
Flynn's request likely will be denied because Sullivan has
done nothing to violate his rights, said Deepak Gupta, an
appellate lawyer in Washington not involved in the case.
"The judge has neither denied nor granted the government's
motion to dismiss," Gupta said. "At the very least, this request
to the appellate court is premature."