Nearly 1,200 Former Federal Prosecutors Urge Judicial Scrutiny of Government’s Motion to Dismiss Michael Flynn Case 

On May 20, Protect Democracy filed an amicus brief on behalf of 1,187 former federal prosecutors, who argue why Judge Emmet Sullivan has “robust authority” to scrutinize the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the prosecution of Michael Flynn—“and to take appropriate action if [he] determines that dismissal would not serve the public interest.

The former prosecutors, who have nearly 14,300 years of combined experience and served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, argue three overarching points:

Rule 48(a) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure gives courts the final say over whether a pending criminal case will be dismissed, and it requires them to reject a dismissal that is not “in the public interest”; Special circumstances, including the President’s political interference in Flynn’s case, underscore the need for independent review in the case; and The substance and circumstances surrounding the government’s motion are suspect, including the reversal of its previous argument for why Flynn’s lies were “absolutely material” after the prosecuting attorney, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie Liu, was replaced with Timothy Shea, a former aide to Attorney General William Barr.

A summary of the brief is available at Lawfare.

A copy of the brief is available here.