Judge Emmet Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for D.C. May 27, 2009. Photo by Diego M. Radzinschi/NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL.
Flynn Judge Needs to be Removed From Bench, Disbarred for Judicial Abuse
Dan Abrams: Michael Flynn Got ‘Railroaded,’ Judge ‘Either Unprepared’ or ‘Vindictive’
by Aidan McLaughlin | MEDIAITE
ABC News chief legal analyst and Mediaite founder Dan Abrams said Michael Flynn “got railroaded” at his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, calling the district court judge who presided “either unprepared” or “vindictive.”
Abrams addressed the “astonishing hearing” of Flynn — in which the former former national security adviser’s sentencing was postponed to March 13 — on his SiriusXM show on the P.O.T.U.S. channel Tuesday.
“On the whole, I think he was treated unfairly today,” Abrams said of Flynn. “I have sympathy for Michael Flynn now, and it’s fair to say that at this hearing he got railroaded.”
Flynn, who plead guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia, faced a fierce reprimand from U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan over the course of the dramatic hearing. Sullivan said he was “not hiding my disgust” for Flynn’s crime, telling Flynn “arguably, you sold your country out.” While Abrams criticized Flynn’s team for including language in their sentencing memo that suggested he was entrapped, he said that did not excuse the judge for making unfounded accusations.
Sullivan questioned if prosecutors could have charged Flynn with treason for his work as an unregistered agent of Turkey during the campaign, but later walked back those scathing remarks and apologized — confessing he messed up the timeline of Flynn’s work as an unregistered agent.
Abrams seemed particularly troubled by Judge Sullivan asking prosecutors about treason. “Words matter” Abrams asserted, but noted while he thought Flynn was treated “unfairly,” he did not think it was politically motivated.
“This is a judge who has been appointed to the bench by Reagan, Bush and Clinton,” Abrams said. “I think a lot of people on the right were counting on him to be the savior of Michael Flynn — but it ended up being the opposite today in court.”
“He was either unprepared, or he was just being vindictive,” he asserted.