U.S. judge urged to stop Justice Department's 'corrupt' reversal in Flynn case

A retired judge, appointed by the court to make arguments, on Friday said the U.S. Department of Justice should not be allowed to drop its criminal case against President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

A retired judge, appointed by the court to make arguments, on Friday said the U.S. Department of Justice should not be allowed to drop its criminal case against President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn. The Justice Department's effort to drop the case was a "corrupt and politically motivated favor unworthy of our justice system," John Gleeson, a former trial judge and prosecutor, said in a court filing.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan had asked Gleeson to present arguments for why the Justice Department's request to drop the case should be denied. Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, pleaded guilty two times to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russia's then-ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, concerning U.S. sanctions imposed on Moscow under President Barack Obama.

Flynn was charged under former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation that detailed Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election to boost Trump's candidacy.