A big win for President Trump: The Justice Department said Thursday it is dropping the criminal case against Michael Flynn, per the AP. The case involving Trump's first national security adviser had become a rallying cry for the president and his supporters in attacking the FBI's Russia investigation. The move is a stunning reversal for one of the signature cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. It comes even though prosecutors for the last three years had maintained that Flynn had lied to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador in a January 2017 interview. Flynn himself admitted as much, and became a key cooperator for Mueller as he investigated ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.
In court documents being filed Thursday, the Justice Department said it is dropping the case “after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information.” The Justice Department said it had concluded that Flynn’s interview by the FBI was “untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn” and that the interview on January 24, 2017, was “conducted without any legitimate investigative basis.” The US attorney reviewing the Flynn case, Jeff Jensen, recommended the move to Attorney General William Barr last week and formalized the recommendation in a document this week. The decision is certain to be embraced by Trump, but it will likely add to Democratic concerns that Attorney General William Barr is excessively loyal to the president.
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