Grassley demands Barr 'intervene' in Flynn case, says there should be 'consequences' for FBI, DOJ misconduct
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sen. Chuck Grassley went on a rare Twitter tirade on Thursday, blasting the Justice Department and the FBI for their handling of the false statements case against former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn and urging Attorney General Barr to intervene.
Grassley, R-Iowa, served as Senate Judiciary Committee chairman at the onset of the Russia investigation. His tweets come after the Justice Department unsealed new FBI files a day earlier showing agents discussing their motivations for even interviewing Flynn in the first place -- including whether they should try "to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired."
Grassley on Thursday said there should be "consequences" for misconduct, as critics have accused the FBI of entrapment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NOW-IMPERILED CASE AGAINST FLYNN COST HIM MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, HIS HOUSE, HIS JOB
“New DOJ docs seem 2back Lt Gen Flynns claim that FBI/DOJ/Mueller team railroaded 30yr veteran in Russia probe For yrs, Ive asked for DOJs Flynn records Their response: ‘nothing 2see here,'" Grassley tweeted, in his trademark Twitter style. “Obviously not true! Time to put all cards on the table Transparency brings accountability.”
In 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI about his conversations with then-Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. But he has yet to be sentenced, as his team has since raised issues over the FBI’s tactics in his case.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In his tweets Thursday, Grassley went on to say that the “FBI/DOJ screwed up so many times” in the Russia probe, and said it would be “very reasonable” for the attorney general and an “impartial judge 2take close look at Flynn case.”
“Accused deserves fairness+Public deserves accountability+ Prosecutor/investigator/lawyer misconduct deserves consequences,” Grassley tweeted.
“Many of my colleagues r rightfully calling for prosecution of ppl who violated Flynn’s constitutional rights MORE IMPORTANTLY the whole country needs to know how his rights were violated,” he continued. “TRUTH getting out is most important so this FBI abuse won’t be repeated again on someone else.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Grassley went on to urge Barr to intervene, saying “it’s so obvious the constitutional punishment that GenFlynn has had for four long years u need to intervene and #FREE FLYNN.”
The documents, unsealed late Wednesday, revealed that top FBI officials openly questioned if their “goal” was “to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired.”
The handwritten notes -- written by the FBI’s former head of counterintelligence Bill Priestap after a meeting with then-FBI Director James Comey and then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, Fox News is told -- further suggested that agents planned in the alternative to get Flynn “to admit to breaking the Logan Act” when he spoke to Kislyak during the presidential transition period.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Logan Act is an obscure statute that has never been used in a criminal prosecution; enacted in 1799 in an era before telephones, it was intended to prevent individuals from falsely claiming to represent the United States government abroad.
"What is our goal?" one of the notes read. "Truth/Admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?”
"If we get him to admit to breaking the Logan Act, give facts to DOJ + have them decide," another note read. Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley of George Washington University called the document's implications “chilling.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The memo appears to weigh the pros and cons of pursuing those different paths.
"I don't see how getting someone to admit their wrongdoing is going easy on him," one note reads. Flynn did not ultimately admit to wrongdoing in the interview.
TRUMP BLASTS 'SCAM' AGAINST FLYNN AS FBI FILES RAISE QUESTIONS ABOUT FUTURE OF CASE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The document indicates that the agents at least discussed the merits of a by-the-book approach: "If we’re seen as playing games, WH [White House] will be furious.”
Grassley went on to point out that the unsealed documents were “stamped with SCO as in Special Counsel’s Office.”
“Did Mueller have these docs?” he asked Thursday. “Why did his team sit on them? What else is Mueller team that cost taxpayers $30+ million hiding?”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He added: “The ppl deserve answers 2restore faith in federal law enforcement agencies.”
The Justice Department turned over the documents Wednesday, even though a February 2018 standing order in the case from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia required the government to turn over any exculpatory materials in its possession that pertained to Flynn. Such materials ordinarily do not need to be disclosed to uncharged individuals or those who have already pleaded guilty, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan has ruled.
Prosecutors last year rejected claims they were hiding evidence, saying "the government has exceeded its discovery and disclosure obligations in this matter," including by providing Flynn with thousands of pages of documents.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Federal prosecutors at the time called the defense's filings a “fishing expedition.”
Flynn, who pleaded guilty to making false statements about his communications with Kislyak, previously said that FBI officials pressed him not to have the White House counsel present during questioning with two agents that led to his guilty plea. Flynn was not charged with any violation of the Logan Act.
MICHAEL FLYNN PROSECUTION: A TIMELINE OF TRUMP'S EX-NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER'S CASE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Earlier this year, Flynn moved to withdraw his guilty plea for making false statements to the FBI. His legal team, at the time, said that the move was “because of the government’s bad faith, vindictiveness and breach of the plea agreement.”
The Department of Justice, in February, also tapped U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri Jeff Jensen to review the case. The timeline of that investigation is unclear at this point.
President Trump last month floated a “full pardon” for Flynn.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“What happened to General Michael Flynn, a war hero, should never be allowed to happen to a citizen of the United States again!” the president tweeted Thursday morning.
Fox News' Mike Emanuel and Gregg Re contributed to this report.