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Has Michael Flynn lost his damn mind? Sure, Bill Barr did him a solid and forced the Justice Department to drop the case against him. But that doesn’t literally disappear his written guilty plea to one count of lying to the FBI.
And a presidential pardon is magic, but it’s not an actual time machine allowing him to go back and un-allocute both times that he admitted in open court that he lied about his conversations with the Russian ambassador.
Nevertheless, Flynn has apparently filed $50 million claim against the FBI, DOJ, US Attorney’s Office for DC, the Special Counsel’s Office, and the Executive Office of the President for “initiating a false, reckless, abusive, and malicious criminal prosecution against him.” And yes, he is being represented by Trump’s favorite Kraken alum lawyer Jesse Binnall.
Filling out a Standard-Form 95 to document his Federal Tort Claims Act case, Flynn demands “Compensatory damages including but not limited to lost past and future earnings/revenue, emotional distress, lost opportunity to be President’s National Security Advisor, significant restraints of personal liberty, attorney fees/expenses and court costs in defending against malicious prosecution, abuse of process, false arrest, et al. activities of FBI, DOJ, and the White House.”
See the FBI forced Donald Trump to fire Michael Flynn as National Security Advisor after it emerged that he’d lied about promising the Russian ambassador before the inauguration that Trump would lift Obama-era sanctions imposed to punish Russia for interfering in the 2016 election on Trump’s behalf. And this is a compensable injury for which Flynn claims $5 million in property damage and $45 million in lost earnings.
Riiiiiiiiight.
The filing was reported by John Solomon, who departed The Hill after it was revealed that he’d worked with Rudy Giuliani and his merry band of weirdos to magic up Ukrainian dirt on Joe Biden and then presented the result as “journalism.”
Flynn’s claim is similarly, ummm, magical. It’s like a magical Pepe Silvia string board.
The Obama White House was in so much “despair” and so distraught by the “devastating blow” of Flynn’s selection as NSA that they calculatingly, and with actual malice and corrupt motives, conspired to and did use the tremendous power of their positions in the Executive Office of the President (and their influence of the DOJ and FBI) to personally oppress and harm Flynn. The outrageous conduct they determined to take, along with the FBI and other allies in the Department of Justice, was executed knowingly, purposely, and in complete disregard of Flynn’s rights. On or about January 5, 2017, FBI Director James Comey (Comey) and FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe (McCabe) met in the Oval Office with President Obama, Vice President Biden, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, CIA Director Brennan, ODNI Director James Clapper, and National Security Advisor Susan Rice.
During this meeting, the participants agreed to try to damage incoming President Trump and his new Administration, including by trying to prosecute Flynn, President-elect Trump’s incoming National Security Advisor, to cause him to resign as NSA, to cripple President Trump’s ability to implement national security and foreign affairs policy changes, and potentially to get Flynn to turn on President Trump. They also agreed to withhold this agreement from the “transition team.”
Clearly there’s no decaf in the break room at Jesse Binnall’s office. And no shame either.
“Not only was his reputation tarnished by the unlawful prosecution, but he was unable to personally carry on his international consulting business,” whines the guy who negotiated to be paid $15 million by the Turkish government for the extradition or illegal rendition of Fethullah Gulen, a cleric who lives in Pennsylvania and is loathed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The entirety of Flynn’s prosecution took place during Trump’s presidency. Nevertheless, Flynn insists that this was all Obama and Biden’s doing.
“As a result of this unjustifiable, outrageous, and malicious prosecution of Flynn and the abuse of process engaged in to carry it out by FBI agents, FBI leadership, Justice Department prosecutors, and the highest ranking EOP officials in the Obama Administration – including President Obama and then-Vice President Biden themselves – punitive damages are not only warranted but absolutely essential to deter any present or future FBI, DOJ, and EOP official from harming anyone else like they harmed Flynn,” he fairly shrieks.
Well, it’s a lot. Who knows what might happen! But if we were Michael Flynn, we wouldn’t go spending that $50 million just yet.
Michael Flynn files $50 million claim against feds in prelude to lawsuit over Russia probe [Just the News]
Liz Dye lives in Baltimore where she writes about law and politics.
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