Bill Barr installs outside prosecutor for 'highly unusual' review of Michael Flynn case: NYT
Former National Security Advisor General Michael Flynn leaves after the delay in his sentencing hearing at US District Court in Washington. (AFP / SAUL LOEB)

Attorney General Bill Barr has assigned an outside prosecutor to conduct a review of the criminal case against former Trump national security adviser Micheal Flynn.


The New York Times reports that this review is "highly unusual" and comes at a time when Barr has already intervened to reduce the recommended sentencing for longtime Trump ally Roger Stone.

"The intervention has contributed a turbulent period for the prosecutors’ office that oversees the seat of the federal government and some of the most politically sensitive investigations and cases — some involving President Trump’s friends and allies, and some his critics and adversaries," the Times reports.

Flynn in 2017 pleaded guilty to lying to FBI officials about the nature of his contacts with then-Russian ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak.