Posted on 05/18/2020 7:31:42 AM PDT by Kaslin
Sullivan should not embark on any contempt proceeding against Michael Flynn. Doing so would be a misuse of his contempt power.
Stunning developments in the criminal case of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn exploded onto the national scene the past two weeks. First, the government moved to dismiss the case, a one-count plea for allegedly making false statements to the FBI.
Then the trial judge, Emmet Sullivan, issued an order permitting people and groups claiming to have an interest in the matter to file briefs about whether he should grant the government’s motion. Further, Sullivan appointed a retired federal judge, John Gleeson, to act as amicus curiae (friend of the court) to present opposing arguments to the government’s motion.
Much has been and will be written about these developments, but somewhat lost in the uproar they’ve caused is the second portion of the order appointing Gleeson, which directs him to advise Sullivan on whether he should issue a show-cause order to Flynn for criminal contempt for perjury.
I can save Gleeson the trouble. The controlling legal authority from the Supreme Court holds that contempt power cannot be used to punish people for making statements, even under oath, that the judge deems false.
When Flynn pleaded guilty, and again when he was originally scheduled to be sentenced by Sullivan, he acknowledged under oath that he was guilty of making false statements to the FBI agents who questioned him about his telephone conversation with the Russian ambassador. He made these statements, however, while he was represented by counsel who had an apparent conflict of interest and before the government disclosed that the FBI lacked a legitimate reason to question him about the telephone call.
More recently, after Flynn obtained new counsel, he moved to withdraw his guilty plea and submitted a declaration stating that he was innocent of the crime. The potential discrepancy between that declaration and his earlier statements appears to be the basis for Sullivan flagging the perjury issue.
Flynn may well have legitimate defenses to any charge for perjury that might be brought against him, such as reliance on conflicted counsel and ignorance of the defect in the FBI’s interview of him, which render any statement he made legally immaterial. Of more interest is whether Sullivan has a legal basis to explore these issues in a contempt proceeding.
A court issues a show-cause order for contempt as a prelude to possibly punishing a person for alleged misconduct. It describes the misconduct and requires the person to defend against that allegation. It is similar to an indictment except the court, rather than a prosecutor, initiates it. The person receiving a show-cause order must appear and defend the accusation but has certain due process rights, such as the right to notice, the right to counsel, and the right to present a defense.
Sullivan has not yet issued a show-cause order to Flynn, but he has directed Gleeson to advise him as to whether he should do so. The answer is absolutely not, because Sullivan lacks the authority to sanction Flynn for perjury.
Under the separation of powers established by the Constitution, criminal charges are brought by the executive branch and adjudicated by the judiciary. Thus, any actual prosecution of Flynn under federal statutes for perjury would have to be brought by the Department of Justice.
Courts are, however, permitted to initiate prosecutions for criminal contempt of court. Contempt is behavior that disobeys, offends, or disrespects a court’s authority or dignity. It can occur directly in court, or indirectly when it happens outside the judge’s presence. Judges have the authority to summarily punish contempt committed in their presence in certain instances.
The federal criminal code specifically recognizes a court’s contempt authority. Section 401 of the federal criminal code provides that a federal court can punish contempt of its authority, consisting of misbehavior in its presence that obstructs the administration of justice.
Rule 42 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure governs contempt proceedings. It provides that, generally, a person charged with contempt shall be given notice of the charge, a prosecutor shall be appointed, and a trial shall occur to adjudicate the charge. If the potential punishment exceeds 180 days, the defendant also has a right to a jury trial.
But the Supreme Court decided 100 years ago in a case called Ex parte Hudgings that perjury does not constitute contempt of court under Section 401. In that case, a judge held a witness in criminal contempt for giving what in the judge’s view was perjured testimony.
The Supreme Court held that to convict the witness of contempt for alleged perjury, “there must be added to the essential elements of perjury … the further element of obstruction to the court in the performance of its duty.” It voided the contempt conviction because “the punishment was imposed for the supposed perjury alone without reference to any circumstance or condition giving it an obstructive effect.”
The D.C. Circuit, which sits over Sullivan, has reinforced the Hudgings limitation and emphasized that “actual, not theoretical, obstruction is the test, and that any claimed obstruction must be proven precisely.” That decision, called In re Brown, involved a person who falsely claimed to be, and acted as, an attorney in a criminal proceeding before the court. The D.C. Circuit ruled that this conduct, however fraudulent, had not obstructed the proceeding.
Flynn’s statements in connection with his plea did not obstruct the court in the performance of its duty. Thus, they simply cannot constitute contempt of court under long-standing precedent. Sullivan should therefore not embark on any contempt proceeding. Doing so would be a misuse of his contempt power.
Since when has the Rule of Law ever been of any concern to the Commies who have infiltrated OUR Government?
This insanity should get Sullivan removed. He can hardly be considered qualified to be a judge when he demonstrates such extreme political bias.
He’s better suited for a Third World dictatorship or Chicago.
Folks wonder why the President didn’t fire everyone when he took office. These people will not obey any law or precedent. They will challenge anything to keep conservatives from any power whether whether they can do it legally or not. It is all they have.
They have no capacity to honor anyone or the Constitution.
Thanks.
Dopey ol’Judge Bozo Emmet Sullivan is keeping Flynn on the torture rack and running up more legal bills. Let’s hope some wealthy benefactor is paying Flynn’s lawyer Sidney Powell, who has done a boffo job.
This judge needs to cut bait.
Remember when American Generals had nick-names like “Blood and Guts,” or “Stonewall” or “Vinegar Joe?”
Instead we have Beltway marshmallows who are so a part of the swamp, and so afraid of the perfumed apparatchiks of the FBI, they plead guilty to manufactured charges on crimes they didn’t commit.
The writer makes a good case based on the facts of the law. Sullivan will make his decision not based on the law but based on his obvious hate and contempt for Flynn, Bush and others.
You don't think DC is a third world shithole? DC road conditions that would embarrass any real third world shithole. This is the city of Marion Barry and his white elitist enablers.
It’s simple really...... as commander in chief, you go to war with what you have.
To second guess Donald Tump is the height of foolishness
This has been an annoying characteristic of Republican administrations since Eisenhower. The Eisenhower and Nixon/Ford administrations, in particular, were filled with Democrat holdovers. By contrast, when the Democrats take the presidency, they always clean house.
Don’t waste time with legal arguments, this judge isn’t interested in the law or precedent. He’s already thrown that all out the window. He’ll do what he wants, which will inevitably be overturned but he doesn’t care. It’s political with him, not legal.
“Folks wonder why the President didn’t fire everyone when he took office.”
I agree that most of the hold-overs should be given the gate when a new person takes over. But, the president can’t fire a judge so that wouldn’t have helped in this case.
Legally, yeah, good one.
Does Sullivan have the sense to know that for Flynn to have committed perjury by pleading guilty when he wasn’t, that the government was guilty of accepting the guilty plea knowing Flynn was innocent?
Are not Jessie Liu and Van Grack therefore guilty of perjury and perpetrating a fraud on the court?
Isn’t Van Grack in criminal contempt for defying the judge’s order to submit all exculpatory material? For submitting falsified 302’s, knowing they were not legitimate evidence?
I presume Gleeson will argue that Flynn obstructed the court’s desire to railroad him by hiring competent defense, submitting exculpatory material recently obtained from Jensen, and reversing his plea.
Absolutely correct. Sullivan is stringing this out to play a waiting game, so that IF Trump isn’t re-elected, Flynn won’t have anyone available to pardon him. Sentencing will happen on the day after the inauguration of the new POTUS. That is what Sullivan is waiting for.
I still don't understand why General Flynn didn't require an attorney being present during a so-called interview. You don't get to be a General without some commonsense. What did the FBI tell him to feel so at ease and not insist they formally request through White House counsel? Was it because he was newly appointed NSA and didn't want to rock the boat during the transition? What? Why?
As I've said over and over, NEVER SAY A WORD UNLESS YOU HAVE LEGAL COUNSEL. Or at the least, use Hillary's words, "I don't recall" "I don't remember" "I have no recollection of that", etc. for what? 70 times?. She set precedence that so many other political liars have followed. That's why it's so hard to nail the Deep State players.
Never say "I don't know". There could be documentation or witness[s] to testify you did know.
This is a Rope-a-Dope on the part of Flynn.
Sullivan doesn’the think he is above the law, he thinks he IS the law.
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