Rep. Matt Gaetz predicted Justice Department officials from the Obama administration will face consequences after the agency dropped charges against former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
“History will not be kind to what people in the Obama Department of Justice did to put our country through a baseless investigation for over two years. We’re starting to see who the real criminals are,” the Florida Republican said in a tweet Friday, along with a video clip from an appearance with Fox Business host Lou Dobbs.
History will not be kind to what people in the Obama Department of Justice did to put our country through a baseless investigation for over two years.
We’re starting to see who the real criminals are. pic.twitter.com/ymIROoR7Rb
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) May 8, 2020
“If you zoom out from Michael Flynn, you see a common trend,” Gaetz said to Dobbs. “Folks were trying to set up the people who might be close to the president, whether that was Michael Flynn, George Papadopolous, Roger Stone, Donald Trump Jr., Corey Lewandowski. Any of these folks that got wrapped into having to respond to the Mueller investigation were largely there to try and create leverage against the president.”
Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about his conversations with a Russian diplomat before Trump entered the White House.
Flynn cooperated with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election but took a more combative approach after replacing his legal team. His new team, led by Powell, aggressively fought the charges against Flynn, who declared his innocence in January and claimed he was set up by the FBI.
The Department of Justice announced Thursday afternoon that charges against Flynn for lying to the FBI were being dropped because pursuing them would “not serve the interests of justice,” according to a 20-page court filing from U.S. attorney Timothy Shea. The judge presiding over the case will now decide whether to dismiss it.
President Trump welcomed the news, calling Flynn a “warrior.”
“So, I’m very happy for Gen. Flynn. He was a great warrior, and he still is a great warrior. Now, in my book, he’s an even greater warrior. What happened to him should never happen again,” Trump told reporters Thursday.
“He was an innocent man. He is a great gentleman. He was targeted by the Obama administration, and he was targeted in order to try and take down a president. And what they’ve done is a disgrace, and I hope a big price is going to be paid,” the president added. “A big price should be paid. There’s never been anything like this in the history of our country. What they did, what the Obama administration did is unprecedented. It’s never happened.”
Among those who criticized the move was House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff.
“Flynn pled guilty to lying to the FBI about his illicit Russian contacts. His lies do not now become truths. This dismissal does not exonerate him. But it does incriminate Bill Barr. In the worst politicization of the Justice Department in its history,” the California Democrat tweeted.
Flynn pled guilty to lying to the FBI about his illicit Russian contacts.
His lies do not now become truths.
This dismissal does not exonerate him.
But it does incriminate Bill Barr.
In the worst politicization of the Justice Department in its history.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) May 7, 2020
