Judge Jeanine: Judge's decision to appoint outsider to examine Flynn case is a 'political hack job'
The judge presiding over Michael Flynn's case has appointed a lawyer to present arguments in opposition to the government's motion to dismiss the case.
Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro on Friday blasted a new ruling by the judge in the Michael Flynn case, arguing that the move to extend the case is a “political hack job.”
“This judge, by saying I want to consider a perjury charge against Michael Flynn, is so out of his realm that it is stunning to anyone who understands criminal justice,” the host of "Justice with Jeanine" told “Fox & Friends.”
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Pirro went on to say, “Are you going to say that anyone who pleads not guilty to a crime but is thereafter found guilty should be tried for perjury or just Michael Flynn? … Are you going to say that there is newly discovered evidence as there was here or that there is Braden material that is not handed over that you’re going to say ‘too bad, you pled guilty.’”
"This is a political hack job and it is an outrage that it is occurring."
Pirro reacted to Judge Emmet Sullivan issuing an order Wednesday appointing a law firm partner "to present arguments in opposition to the government's motion to dismiss" the matters related to the Flynn case -- and to consider whether the court should hold Flynn in contempt for perjury.
The partner, retired federal judge John Gleeson, has openly criticized the Trump administration's handling of Michael Flynn's case, raising concerns that he was selected to improperly bolster Sullivan's efforts to keep the Flynn case alive even though both the government and defendant want it dismissed.
Sullivan has previously suggested Flynn may have committed treason, in a 2018 courtroom outburst, and seemingly confused key details about Flynn's overseas lobbying work.
The precise reasons for the perjury review were not clear in Sullivan's order. Last year, Flynn abruptly abandoned his plan to provide testimony against a former associate, after admitting that he had lied on federal forms required under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Flynn has said he received constitutionally inadequate legal advice.
Although Flynn was never charged with the FARA violations or perjury, he admitted to making “materially false statements and omissions” concerning his work in Turkey as part of his plea agreement. Flynn ultimately pleaded guilty only to one count of lying to FBI agents in the White House in January 2017 as his legal bills mounted, leading him to sell his home.
Flynn did not plead guilty to perjury, which applies to false statements under oath in a legal proceeding. (In leaked remarks this week, though, former President Obama conspicuously suggested Flynn had been charged with perjury.)
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Pirro said that Sullivan has "already indicated his bias" when he asked whether or Flynn should be prosecuted for treason and he called the former Trump administration official an embarrassment to the country at previous hearings.
"This judge should be recused. He is an embarrassment to the bench and the robes that he wears, he is doing nothing by trying to extend this case through the election, and they're persecuting Michael Flynn," she said.
Fox News' Gregg Re contributed to this report.
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