Judges on a federal appeals court have rejectedMichael Flynn's effort to force a judge to immediately dismiss the charges against him, overturning an earlier decision that would have allowed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to drop its case against the former national security adviser.
In an 8-2 decision, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Flynn's petition for it to step in and force a district judge to grant the Justice Department's motion to drop charges without holding a hearing on the issue.
Legal observers say the appeals court had agreed to rehear the case after a three-judge panel ordered the district court in June to dismiss the charges.
Judges at the circuit court level also denied Flynn's argument that the judge overseeing his case be forced to recuse himself. The former three-star general's legal team had argued that Judge Emmet Sullivan acted improperly by appointing outside counsel to argue against the DOJ's sudden decision to drop its case and by asking the full circuit court to revisit the earlier decision by a three-judge panel.
At this point, Judge Sullivan who was appointed to the federal bench by former President Clinton, will be able to move forward with a hearing about the DOJ's unusual reversal in the case, before deciding whether to allow the Trump administration to withdraw its charges against the president's former close aide. This would be the next step unless Flynn's lawyers appeal to the Supreme Court.
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