Judge dismisses Michael Flynn case following pardon from Donald Trump

Michael Flynn may have been pardoned, but a federal judge reminds that it doesn’t mean he’s innocent. Image via AP.

A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed the criminal case against former Donald Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn, two weeks after a pardon from the President effectively ended the case.

The order from U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan was largely procedural in light of the pardon from President Trump, which wiped away Flynn’s conviction for lying to the FBI during the Russia investigation.

Sullivan made clear in a 43-page order that he was compelled to dismiss the case because of the pardon. But he also stressed that a pardon, by itself, did not mean that Flynn was innocent. Flynn had twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts during the presidential transition period with the Russian ambassador.

“The history of the Constitution, its structure, and the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the pardon power make clear that President Trump’s decision to pardon Mr. Flynn is a political decision, not a legal one,” Sullivan wrote. “Because the law recognizes the President’s political power to pardon, the appropriate course is to dismiss this case as moot.

Flynn was the second Trump associate convicted in the Russia probe to be granted clemency by the President. Trump commuted the sentence of longtime confidant Roger Stone just days before he was to report to prison.

Flynn acknowledged lying during the FBI interview by saying he had not discussed with the then-Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, sanctions that had just been imposed on Russia for election interference by the outgoing Barack Obama administration. During that conversation, Flynn urged Kislyak for Russia to be “even-keeled” in response to the punitive measures, and assured him “we can have a better conversation” about relations between the two countries after Trump became President.

The conversation alarmed the FBI, which at the time was investigating whether the Trump campaign and Russia had coordinated to sway the election’s outcome. In addition, White House officials were stating publicly that Flynn and Kislyak had not discussed sanctions.

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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.