The contentious will-they, won’t-they dance continues between federal prosecutors and the defense of former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. The government wants to move forward with sentencing, but the other side is pushing back. Flynn’s defense argues that the prosecution is engaging in “malevolent conduct” by withholding exculpatory evidence.
From the motion filed Friday afternoon:
The prosecutors in this case have repeatedly failed to produce Brady evidence despite (i) the clarity of this Court’s Order, (ii) their ethical and constitutional obligations, (iii) specific requests for documents the prosecutors know are exculpatory, and (iv) those requests being made multiple times. Not only have the prosecutors thumbed their noses at this Court’s Order, they have ignored the rules of ethical conduct for the D.C. Bar.
The defense says this includes the anti-Trump texts by former FBI agent Peter Strzok and attorney Lisa Page.
“Counsel for Mr. Flynn has repeatedly requested the unredacted messages between Strzok and Page, the unredacted 302s of Bruce Ohr, as well as details of the information the Department and Special Counsel had of their messages prior to Mr. Flynn’s plea,” they wrote.
The defense is taking an aggressive posture. They want the government held in contempt.
The Department of Justice didn’t immediately respond to a Law&Crime request for comment.
Flynn famously pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to FBI agents about his communication with the then-Russian ambassador during the presidential transition. He promised to cooperate, but his sentencing got delayed. The defendant also replaced his legal team, signaling the possibility they might be butting heads with the prosecution.
A status conference is scheduled for September 10.
[Image via SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images]
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