Mike Flynn is tripling-down on a legal strategy that has so far not worked particularly well for him. His lawyers have asked a judge to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea, weeks before he was scheduled to be sentenced. 
This is the first time I've seen a defendant attempt to use a footnote for fund-raising.
The upshot of this motion is that Flynn should be allowed to withdraw his plea because DOJ violated the agreement by pressuring him to lie in the prosecution of his business partner.
Basically, Flynn's new lawyers argue DOJ is punishing him because he hired them. (And, for reference, DOJ has gone out of its way in previous filings to point out the many ways it thinks Flynn was badly served by his new counsel.)
Flynn's lawyers say the DOJ Inspector General report on FISA applications -- which didn't involve Flynn -- reveals "stunning new information" about the case, but doesn't say what that information is.
Flynn's lawyers also say DOJ breached his plea agreement when it rescinded the formal request that he get credit for his assistance to investigators. (The plea agreement says such a request is at the government's sole discretion.)
Mike Flynn's lawyers say in their latest filing that "Michael T. Flynn is innocent."
This alone probably blows up his scheduled sentencing. Judge Sullivan has said before that the court can't accept a guilty plea from someone who says he's innocent.
This alone probably blows up his scheduled sentencing. Judge Sullivan has said before that the court can't accept a guilty plea from someone who says he's innocent.
DOJ's reply, in a letter to Flynn's lawyers yesterday, is the lawyerly formulation of "huh?"
Anyway, the Justice Department's case against Mike Flynn -- once a relatively straightforward false-statements case in which he *twice* pleaded guilty and was looking at probation -- is going to get even more complicated.
Interestingly, Flynn's motion to withdraw his plea never mentions the legal standard for doing that. Under Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(d)(2)(A), he needs a "fair and just reason," which is a higher bar than it sounds. Withdrawals - especially last-minute ones - are "disfavored" in D.C.
Also, Flynn's motion to withdraw his guilty plea flatly asserts his innocence, but doesn't explain - at all - why he *twice* pleaded guilty, and declared in open court that he was.
Here's the whole filing, which you can read for yourself and I promise isn't at all like other legal filings you've seen today ->
