WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — A federal appeals court denied a bid by Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security advisor, to immediately end the long-running criminal case against him.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Monday rejected Flynn’s request for an emergency order directing the judge hearing the case to grant the Justice Department’s request for dismissal.
The decision keeps the case at least temporarily alive.
In May, the Justice Department moved to dismiss prosecution against Flynn despite pleading guilty two times to lying to the FBI during the Russia investigation. After a judge refused to immediately dismiss the case, his lawyers asked a federal appeals court to step in.
The ruling Monday allows U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan to hear arguments on whether he must grant the Justice Department’s request to drop the case.
The judge has said he is “not a rubber stamp” and wants to carefully scrutinize the Justice Department’s request before deciding whether to grant it.
Flynn was the only person charged in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation who had been a White House official. Mueller’s probe investigated ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia.
Sidney Powell, a lawyer for Flynn, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Check back for more updates as this story develops.
