Andrew McCarthy: Flynn judge must explain his astounding, offensive refusal to dismiss charges
A federal appeals court orders the judge in the Michael Flynn case to respond to motion to dismiss charges; Fox News contributor Andrew McCarthy, former assistant U.S. attorney, weighs in.
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew McCarthy said on Friday that though Attorney General William Barr is “disturbed” by the FBI’s mishandling of the Russia probe and the Michael Flynn investigation, there is unlikely to be an indictment against President Barack Obama or his top administration officials.
“It really was a travesty to see an abuse of power like this. Also, it reminded us that not every abuse of power is a criminal offense under the penal code, the United States code,” McCarthy told “America's Newsroom."
“I don’t think they are going to do an exotic theory to try to rope in every single person who had a part in this,” McCarthy said.
Attorney General Bill Barr said Monday that he does not expect that U.S. Attorney John Durham’s review into the origins of the Russia probe will lead to a “criminal investigation” of either former President Barack Obama or former Vice President Joe Biden. Barr noted that their concern of “potential criminality” in the conduct of that probe is “focused on others.”
A newly released email appeared to indicate that Obama’s national security adviser, Susan Rice, had knowledge of the surveillance that took place that led to the "unmasking" of then-incoming National Security Adviser (NSA) Flynn from his communications with the then-Russian ambassador.
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The email, which was written on Jan. 20, 2017, documented a Jan. 5 Oval Office meeting with Obama and others, during which he provided guidance on how law enforcement needed to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential race. Parts of it were released previously, but the section on then-FBI Director James Comey's response had been classified as "TOP SECRET" until now.
Comey suggested to Obama that the National Security Council (NSC) might not want to pass "sensitive information related to Russia" to Flynn, according to a newly declassified email that Flynn's predecessor sent herself on Inauguration Day.
The section showed that Comey affirmed to Obama he was proceeding "by the book," and went on to discuss concerns about Flynn's known conversations with Russia's ambassador at the time -- conversations that would play a role later in the criminal case against Flynn.
McCarthy said that it is possible to abuse one's power in the executive branch without committing a crime.
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“I expect there will be some prosecutions, but I think people who are waiting for the Biden prosecution, the Obama prosecution, Susan Rice and all the rest, I think they are waiting in vain for that.
“You can say they abused their power without saying they committed crimes,” McCarthy said.
Fox News' Gregg Re contributed to this report.
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