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Virginia Judge Acquits Michael Flynn Business Partner thefederalist.com/2019/09/25/vir…
The reaction from the right was swift. “Judge Trenga penned a thorough and brilliant decision that is correct on the law and the facts,” Flynn’s attorney Sidney Powell told The Federalist.
“This was another case without a crime—brought by prosecutors who were willing to criminalize innocent behavior in furtherance of their own agenda,” Powell added.
While the government sought to portray Rafiekian as an agent of Turkey, the court found no “rational juror could find” that Rafiekian knowingly acted—or caused others to act—on behalf of the Turkish government.
The government has the right to appeal Judge Trenga’s order of acquittal, but as a back-stop, the judge held that if his decision is overturned, Rafiekian is entitled to a new trial. The next step now is for the government to decide whether to appeal or cut its losses.
To Powell, “this prosecution was the extension of Mueller’s abuses and those of the National Security Division who grossly expanded their power and corrupted the FISA process.”
“The National Security Division of the DOJ needs to be completely cleaned out and reconstituted with people who are dedicated to protecting the Fourth Amendment and individual rights instead of trampling them.”
In the meantime, Powell remains committed to defending Flynn in a D.C. court. While Flynn had pleaded guilty more than a year ago to making false statements to the FBI, Powell continues to fight for access to evidence the government withheld from Flynn and his prior attorneys.
With that evidence, Powell hopes to present a case for full dismissal of the charges against Flynn for egregious prosecutorial misconduct. But first, presiding Judge Emmett Sullivan must decide whether to allow Powell to access that evidence.
It will be some time before Flynn knows his fate, but Judge Trenga’s decision surely buoyed his spirits, as several passages confirmed that there was no conspiracy and Flynn bore no criminal liability over supposedly conspiring to commit FARA violations
Judge Trenga’s opinion also counters the media-contrived conventional wisdom that Turkey funneled funds to Flynn through the FIG. “There is no evidence, direct or otherwise, sufficient to reasonably infer that Turkey funded the engagement of FIG,” Judge Trenga wrote.
Flynn and Powell are likewise likely finding comfort in the dedication to detail and the rule of law Judge Trenga put on display in his 39-page opinion—something Judge Sullivan is sure to notice as well.
