Judge Emmet Sullivan hires attorney to argue his reasons for not dropping the Michael Flynn case

Brett T. | 5:12 PM on May 23, 2020

As you know by now, the Department of Justice moved to drop the federal government’s case against Michael Flynn in light of new evidence, but the presiding judge in the case, Judge Emmet Sullivan, has resisted. He opened the case to public comment and appointed a retired judge, John Gleeson, to look into the possibility of trying Flynn for contempt of court for perjury. Gleeson had said he’d have his amicus brief filed by June 10, but on Thursday, a three-judge appeals court panel gave Sullivan until June 1 to explain his reasoning for not dropping the case.

Now it looks like Sullivan is pushing back even harder, as he’s hired a prominent trial lawyer to argue his desire to investigate whether dropping the case would be legal and ethical.

A NEW twist in the Flynn saga: Judge Sullivan hires high powered attorney to argue his case for not immediately tossing Flynn guilty plea

Me w @hsu_spencer https://t.co/1z9KLuCMbi

— Carol Leonnig (@CarolLeonnig) May 23, 2020

Sullivan is looking for all the help he can get not to dismiss the case and to charge Flynn with contempt of court. The Washington Post reports:

The federal judge who refused a Justice Department request to immediately drop the prosecution of former Trump adviser Michael Flynn has hired a high-profile trial lawyer to argue his reasons for investigating whether dismissing the case is legally or ethically appropriate.

In a rare step that adds to this criminal case’s already unusual path, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan has retained Beth Wilkinson to represent him in defending his decision to a federal appeals court in Washington, according to a person familiar with the hire who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.