DC Circuit Court grills lawyers in Flynn case over whether case should be dropped
From WWW.FOXNEWS.COM
Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's attorney adamantly argued before the D. C. Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday that District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan overstepped his authority by pushing for further arguments rather than grant prosecutors' motion to dismiss Flynn's case.
A three-judge panel previously sided with Flynn and issued a writ of mandamus ordering Sullivan to dismiss the case, but Sullivan appealed to have the court’s full roster review the case.
“Gen. Flynn is a defendant without a prosecutor,” Flynn’s attorney Sidney Powell said during oral arguments, claiming that it is the Justice Department’s role to determine whether or not to prosecute a case.
Powell was grilled by the judges over whether mandamus is appropriate at this point in the case, given that Sullivan has yet to rule on the DOJ’s motion to dismiss. Mandamus, Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan noted, is for when there are no adequate alternative means of dealing with an issue, noting that a ruling from Sullivan could provide such means if it is in Flynn’s favor.
Powell cited the case of U. S. v. Fokker as D.C. Circuit Court precedent where mandamus was used in a similar situation, but Judge Judith Rogers pointed out that in Fokker the judge had already ruled.
Powell argued the drastic measure of mandamus was necessary because the process Sullivan has created is "way beyond the pale." Sullivan had appointed retired Judge John Gleeson as an amicus curiae — friend of the court — to file a brief arguing against dismissing Flynn’s case and called for a hearing on the issues involved.
Powell referenced Gleeson’s “blistering op-ed in the Washington Post” as evidence that his “bias demands his disqualification.”
Despite Powell’s arguments, Judge Merrick Garland questioned whether waiting for a ruling and then appealing would be the proper process in this situation. Garland pointed out that even in a case where the Supreme Court rules on an issue in a case and a lower court goes against it, an appeal, not a petition for mandamus, is the proper response,
Powell said she generally agrees with Garland but not in a situation where prosecutors... (Read more)
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Submitted 1354 days ago
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