Michael Flynn Guilty Plea, DOJ Motion to Dismiss, and Presidential Pardon: National Security Adviser Convicted of Lying to the FBI
Tier 1Pardoned2017-01-24 to 2020-12-08
Factual Summary
Michael Flynn served as National Security Adviser to President Donald Trump for 24 days, from January 20 to February 13, 2017. He resigned after reports revealed that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential transition period.
On December 1, 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to one felony count of making false statements to the FBI regarding his December 2016 conversations with Kislyak. Specifically, Flynn admitted that he had lied about asking Kislyak to refrain from escalating Russia's response to U.S. sanctions imposed by the Obama administration and about requesting that Russia vote against or delay a United Nations Security Council resolution regarding Israeli settlements. As part of his plea agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office, Flynn agreed to cooperate with the investigation.
Flynn's sentencing was initially scheduled for December 18, 2018. At that hearing, Judge Emmet Sullivan told Flynn, "Arguably, you sold your country out," and offered him the opportunity to postpone sentencing to continue cooperating and potentially reduce his sentence. Flynn accepted the delay.
In January 2020, Flynn moved to withdraw his guilty plea, claiming government misconduct and bad faith. In February 2020, Attorney General William Barr appointed outside prosecutor Jeff Jensen to review the case. In May 2020, the Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss the case with prejudice, stating that the FBI interview in which Flynn lied "was conducted without any legitimate investigative basis" and that the false statements were not material to any investigation.
Judge Sullivan declined to immediately grant the dismissal, instead appointing retired judge John Gleeson as amicus curiae to argue against dismissal. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals initially ordered Sullivan to dismiss the case in a 2-1 ruling, but the full court subsequently vacated that order and allowed Sullivan to proceed.
On November 25, 2020, President Trump granted Flynn a full pardon. On December 8, 2020, Judge Sullivan dismissed the case, stating he had no choice given the pardon but calling the government's motion to dismiss "a gross abuse of prosecutorial power."
Primary Sources
1. United States v. Flynn, No. 1:17-cr-232 (D.D.C.), Statement of Offense, December 1, 2017
2. DOJ Motion to Dismiss, United States v. Flynn, filed May 7, 2020
3. White House statement announcing the pardon of Michael Flynn, November 25, 2020
4. Order of Dismissal, Judge Emmet Sullivan, December 8, 2020
5. Flynn plea agreement with Special Counsel's Office, December 1, 2017
Corroborating Sources
1. NPR: "Michael Flynn Pleaded Guilty. Why Is The Justice Department Dropping The Charges?" May 8, 2020
2. NBC News: "Trump pardons Michael Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI," November 25, 2020
3. Washington Post: "Trump pardons former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI," November 25, 2020
4. Stanford Law School: "DOJ Drops Charges Against Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn," May 11, 2020
Counterarguments and Context
Flynn and his defenders argued that the FBI interview was a "perjury trap" conducted without proper justification and that agents manipulated the circumstances to elicit false statements. Internal FBI documents released during the case review showed agents discussing whether their goal was to "get him to lie" or to get him fired. Attorney General Barr characterized the original investigation as lacking a legitimate basis. Flynn's supporters pointed to these documents as evidence of FBI misconduct. Critics of the DOJ's motion to dismiss, including more than 2,000 former federal prosecutors who signed an open letter, argued that the decision was politically motivated and unprecedented for a defendant who had twice pleaded guilty under oath. Judge Sullivan's amicus brief argued that the motion to dismiss was pretextual and represented the Department capitulating to political pressure.
Author's Note
The Flynn case became a focal point in the broader debate about the conduct of the Russia investigation. The sequence of events is notable: a guilty plea, cooperation, an attempt to withdraw the plea, a DOJ reversal under a new attorney general, and a presidential pardon that rendered all proceedings moot. The pardon eliminated the possibility of any further legal accountability and prevented appellate courts from ruling on whether the DOJ's motion to dismiss was legally justified. Judge Sullivan's description of the DOJ motion as "a gross abuse of prosecutorial power" remains the last judicial assessment of the matter.