Flynn and Justice Department Respond to Court-Appointed Amicus
Published by The Lawfare Institute
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Both Michael Flynn and the Department of Justice on June 17 filed briefs in the case of the former national security adviser that respond to a court-appointed amicus who argued the U.S. District Court judge should reject the government's motion to drop charges.
In a brief filed on June 10, amicus curiae John Gleeson had argued the government’s motion to withdraw charges against Flynn should be dismissed because “the Government’s statement of reasons for seeking dismissal is pretextual” and “there is clear evidence of a gross abuse of prosecutorial power.”
In its response, the Justice Department reasserts that Article II of the Constitution grants the court no power to review the executive branch’s exercise of prosecutorial discretion. The Department also challenges Gleeson’s interpretation of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 48(a), which holds that the government may dismiss an indictment, information of complaint only “with leave of court.”
Flynn’s lawyers argue that U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan had no authority to appoint Gleeson as amicus and that the court must grant dismissal based on the existing record.
You can read Flynn and the Government's briefs below:
