Gen. Flynn's Attorney: Plea Was Coerced by a Threat to Indict His Son

AP featured image — FILE – In this Dec. 1, 2017, file photo, former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn leaves federal court in Washington. A year into his investigation, special counsel Robert Mueller is everywhere and nowhere at the same time. In that time, the breadth and stealth of his investigation has rattled the White House and its chief occupant, and has spread to Capitol Hill, K Street, foreign governments and, as late as last week, corporate boardrooms. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Gen. Michael Flynn’s attorney, Sidney Powell, spoke to Sean Hannity on Monday night and said Flynn’s plea was coerced by the lack of the Brady documents they’ve been fighting to obtain for months and the lead prosecutor’s threat to indict his son.

It has long been thought that Flynn pled guilty to false-statements charges because of threats from the Mueller team. The National Review’s Andy McCarthy, a lawyer, explains that “specifically, Flynn is said to have been warned that, if he refused to plead guilty, prosecutors would charge his son with a felony for failing to register with the Justice Department as a foreign agent. Such a so-called FARA violation (Foreign Agent Registration Act) is a crime that the DOJ almost never charged before the Mueller investigation, and it had dubious application to Flynn’s son (who worked for Flynn’s private-intelligence firm).”

After finally receiving much of this long-withheld material via a Friday afternoon document dump, Powell is more convinced than ever that Flynn was set up. That same day, she filed a supplement to Flynn’s January motion to dismiss the case.

Hannity recounts the stories of Roger Stone and Michael Flynn and kicks off his questioning by asking, “Now we are told we are on the verge of?”

Powell replies, “Release of more documents that will show that Michael Flynn was innocent and was set up by the upper echelon of the FBI, that small group of the highest ranking members of the FBI that deliberately set about from at least August 15, 2016 on to catch Gen. Flynn in something and either prosecute him or get him fired. That’s what we’ve alleged all along and it’s proving true with every new document disclosed.

Hannity asks Powell if she believes the recent report that U.S. Attorney John Durham has expanded his investigation is a sign that things are ratcheting up for justice.

She replies, “Well, it certainly looks like he’s on the right track. And the disclosure of these documents and the advice that more are to come is going to help from all angles. It’s a first step to restoring integrity and credibility to the Department of Justice and the FBI to have this information exposed. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Ballantine, assigned to the case, has advised us since Friday that they’re working to unredact or redact certain parts of the documents that were filed under seal on Friday so that they can be disclosed publicly either tomorrow or Wednesday. It can’t happen soon enough.”

Powell adds, “He is absolutely innocent. His plea was coerced by the lack of information and the threat to indict his son that shows in the documents we filed on the public docket on Friday.”

On Monday, CBS News’ Catherine Herridge reported that Judge Sullivan set several new deadlines.

Upon consideration of 181 Defendant’s Supplement re Motion to Dismiss Case for Egregious Government Misconduct and in the Interest of Justice, the government shall file a response to Mr. Flynn’s Supplement by no later than May 11, 2020, and Mr. Flynn shall file his reply by no later than May 18, 2020. Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on 4/27/20.

Upon consideration of 182 Defendant’s Sealed Motion for Leave to File Document Under Seal, the government shall file a response to Mr. Flynn’s sealed motion by no later than 12:00 PM on May 4, 2020 and Mr. Flynn shall file his reply by no later than 12:00 PM on May 6, 2020. Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on 4/27/20.

So, while Maria Bartiromo’s sources weren’t correct that an exoneration would happen this week for Flynn, let’s hope they were only wrong on the timing.

#FLYNN On new records, motion to dismiss, Judge Sullivan sets first deadline within days: “GOV shall file a response to Mr. Flynn's sealed motion by no later than 12:00 PM on 5/4/2020 and Mr. Flynn shall file his reply by no later than 12:00 PM on 5/6/2020” @CBSNews pic.twitter.com/bH3cyd9b7M

— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) April 27, 2020

Breaking News: sources tell me @GenFlynn will be completely exonerated this week. It was a total fraud. A Set up. More tomorrow @MorningsMaria @FoxBusiness @FoxNews @SundayFutures

— Maria Bartiromo (@MariaBartiromo) April 26, 2020