A federal appeals court judge repeatedly asked Friday whether dropping the case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn would mean police can escape accountability for brutalizing black people.
DC Circuit Judge Robert Wilkins raised the possibility as Flynn’s attorneys and the Justice Department pleaded with a skeptical three-judge panel to order US District Judge Emmet Sullivan to dismiss Flynn’s case and his 2017 guilty plea for lying to the FBI.
Wilkins, an African American Harvard Law School graduate, asked whether dismissing Flynn’s case would mean that judges must also dismiss cases against police if prosecutors offer racist reasons.
“Even if the prosecutor was dismissing the case because it did not believe that a white police officer should have to answer for using excessive force on a black defendant, and they say that in their pleading, under Rule 48(a) the district court still has to grant the motion?” Wilkins asked Deputy Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall.
Wall agreed, “I don’t think that the court can force the executive to keep that case alive in the absence of a case or controversy.” He added, however, that the “unconstitutional motive” distinguishes the scenarios.
The judge, nominated by President Barack Obama, presented the hypothetical in the wake of national unrest this week over the killing of George Floyd by Minnesota policeman Derek Chauvin, who kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Chauvin, since fired, faces second-degree murder charges and three colleagues, also fired, are charged with aiding and abetting murder.
The Justice Department sought last month to drop its case against Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying about calls with Russia’s ambassador. But Sullivan instead appointed ex-Judge John Gleeson to oppose the motion. In a filing this week, Gleeson argued the Flynn case would be dropped “based solely on the fact that Flynn is a political ally of President Trump” and that Flynn, who faces up to five years in prison, should be sentenced.
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Blacks have ONE political concern; racism!!
Typical OVER EDEUCATED (?) Liberal A., Hole! If everything is racsit then NOTHING IS!
What does any of that have to do with General Flynn's case. There is exculpatory evidence that he was pressured into that guilty plea due to the Mueller's team was going to go after Flynn's son, who had nothing to do with the case. Also there is evidence the General was set up in the beginning as part of the coup against President Trump. Judge Sullivan is an arrogant judge who loves the limelife, and should be impeached and removed from the bench.
Black robed Wilkins appears to be a black man, with a chip on his shoulder; he should explain just HOW General Flynn's case even applies to racism, OR the police. Fraudbama nominated a pile of activist idiots and THEY need to be thrown off the bench and stripped of any law licenses they hold if there is ever ANY hope of returning to and maintaining Constitutional Law.
This sort of nonsense occurs all too often in our courts today... Hypotheticals, based on unrelated case law should not be part of the arguments before an appellate Court.
Judges who operate in a vacuum and engage in such conduct should have formal complaints lodged by the DOJ and the President should consider forwarding formal articles of impeachment to the House for consideration.
What does one have to do with the other???? He was framed by the FBI and yes the case needs to be dropped. This judge also need to be disbarred!
That has nothing to do with the Michael Flynn case!! DROP THE CASE!!!
Oh, he's a soetoro creep? THAT figures.
a.k.a. Enemy insurgent.