Bill Barr and Michael Flynn are having a bad day
In the latest reminder that Donald Trump and Bill Barr don’t have a magic wand when it comes to getting their way, their corrupt attempt at getting Michael Flynn off the hook is still bogged down in legal proceedings. Today the full appeals court took up the matter of whether Barr can simply throw out the case against Flynn, and let’s just say that it’s not going well for Flynn.
Based on the questions that the various judges have asked during today’s hearings, legal experts think Michael Flynn is in trouble. Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner tweeted this: “Given the questions from the judges it seems very likely the court will decide the case against Flynn and Barr/DOJ and return it to Judge Sullivan for a further hearing.” Former U.S. Attorney Barb McQuade tweeted that she got a “strong sense that the majority of judges will rule against Flynn.”
If this ruling goes the way these legal experts expect it to, it’ll mean that Bill Barr’s attempt at getting Michael Flynn off the hook will have failed, and Judge Sullivan will be fully back in control of the Michael Flynn case. Sullivan can then give Flynn whatever prison sentence he thinks is appropriate. Flynn’s original plea deal called for zero to six months, but Flynn has clearly reneged on that deal.
If Michael Flynn is sentenced to prison, Donald Trump will then have to decide whether to take the political risk of pardoning Flynn or commuting his sentence. Flynn appears to be convinced that he’s the victim of an imaginary conspiracy, so he might not be willing to accept a pardon, which by legal definition is an admission of guilt. Also, if Trump loses the election, Flynn will surely face the additional criminal charges that he dodged when he cut a plea deal to begin with. One way or the other, Flynn likely ends up in prison for a good amount of time.
