In a controversial ruling on Wednesday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan to dismiss the charges against President Donald Trump’s ex-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who has twice admitted his guilt.
The 2-1 decision was written by Judge Neomi Rao, an ultraconservative appointed by Trump to fill the seat vacated by Brett Kavanaugh.
Legal experts were quick to slam Rao’s ruling, noting its partisan undertones — and some urged the full D.C. Circuit to review her decision to comply with the increasingly corrupt Justice Department.
Check some of the reactions below:
This is an astonishing opinion — by Neomi Rao, a Trump judge who knows little about criminal law and procedure yet thinks the world of executive power.
I fully expect the D.C. Circuit to step in and correct this mistake. And for the Supreme Court to then leave this case alone. https://t.co/XKPCorR2Nf
— Cristian Farias (@cristianafarias) June 24, 2020
I don't see why the DC Circuit can't take this case en banc to reverse Rao, but I need a civil procedure person to tell me if there are different en banc rules for mandamus petitions.
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) June 24, 2020
Neomi Rao of the DC Circuit, one of Trump's most committed and radical partisan agents in the judiciary, closed a dissent today with an absurd claim that we are "governed by injunction." https://t.co/Fvqly2fOua
— Hank Lacey (@COScienceWriter) June 23, 2020
Ultra-Trumpy Trump Judge Neomi Rao—who else?—writes the 2–1 decision ordering the Flynn judge to dismiss the prosecution. She is really just the worst. https://t.co/aVMvjegqz1
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) June 24, 2020
I would expect to see a move to en banc (have all active judges on the DC Circuit hear the case). This ruling sets a precedent that says even in cases of bad faith by DOJ, federal courts have no discretion to refuse a request to dismiss a prosecution. https://t.co/tTU4kAEDj2
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) June 24, 2020
Astonishing barely begins to describe this travesty. En banc review seems mandatory. https://t.co/lclPkOPvtR
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) June 24, 2020
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