To the Editor:
Re “U.S. Drops Pursuit of Flynn, in Move Backed by Trump” (front page, May 8):
I am a recently retired prosecutor from the Southern District of New York, having served proudly there for 20 years. I am both enraged and profoundly saddened by the recent action of the Justice Department to undermine its own prosecutors in its case against Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty twice to lying to F.B.I. investigators.
This is a blatantly political move, both to divert our attention away from this administration’s pathetically inadequate response to the virus and to rile up the president’s political base. Here’s what I expect to happen: The motion to dismiss the charges will be denied, as the judge has already ruled that those charges are warranted. Then Mr. Trump will pardon Mr. Flynn, citing his own Justice Department’s conclusion that there is no evidence of his guilt.
We are so close to becoming a banana republic, it is scary to say the least. My beloved Justice Department has become a political weapon of this president, with the consent of a politically lock step Republican Senate. I weep for our future.
Laurie Korenbaum
Brooklyn
The writer is an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School.
To the Editor:
It is no surprise that William Barr’s Justice Department has dropped its criminal case against Michael Flynn. Donald Trump has lately ramped up his contention that Mr. Flynn was wrongfully charged and is a victim of another “scam” perpetrated against Mr. Trump and his allies and associates. Mr. Trump conveniently ignores that he “had to fire” Mr. Flynn because he lied to Vice President Mike Pence and the F.B.I. And that Mr. Flynn, under oath, pleaded guilty twice.
Dropping the charges now relieves Mr. Trump of having to pardon him before the November election, an act that would almost certainly be politically damaging. Acceding to Mr. Trump’s political needs, Mr. Barr once again does his bidding.
We can be certain that next in line is Roger Stone. Obviously, charges against Mr. Stone can’t be dropped since he’s already been convicted. The best Mr. Barr could do was successfully petition for a reduced sentence. And win or lose in November, Mr. Trump will surely pardon Mr. Stone before the end of the year.
Jay Adolf
New York
The writer is a lawyer.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
