[FoxNews] Michael Flynn's attorney Sidney Powell on Tuesday filed an emergency writ of mandamus to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals seeking the immediate removal of Judge Emmet Sullivan from the case -- and saying that under appellate precedent set by the "Fokker Services" case, Sullivan or his replacement must dismiss the prosecution, as the Justice Department has requested.
Writs of mandamus are extraordinary remedies, which are appropriate when there has been a "usurpation of judicial power" that is "clear and indisputable" -- and, Powell argued, Sullivan's behavior fits the bill. Powell pointed in particular to Sullivan's bizarre suggestion in December 2018 that Flynn had "sold out his country" and could have been prosecuted for "treason," as well as Sullivan's misstatements on the facts of the case.
Powell also demanded the appellate court vacate Sullivan's order appointing an "amicus curiae," or "friend of the court," to argue in favor of preserving Flynn's guilty plea on one count of making false statements to the FBI during an unusual January 24, 2017 White House interview. Oral arguments are set for July 16.
The amicus appointed by Sullivan, retired federal judge John Gleeson, has openly criticized the Trump administration's handling of Flynn's case, raising concerns that he was selected to improperly bolster Sullivan's efforts to keep the Flynn case alive even though both the government and defendant want it dismissed. (In 2013, Gleeson himself held that “the government has near-absolute power under [the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure] to extinguish a case that it has brought" -- but he has since apparently changed his opinion.) |
