Bill Barr drops charges against Michael Flynn after he pleaded guilty

Attorney General Bill Barr and the Justice Department have dropped all of the charges against former Director of National Intelligence Michael Flynn, despite his guilty plea. Flynn then moved to remove his guilty plea three years later, in Jan. 2020.

The Associated Press reported Thursday afternoon that according to court filings, the charges would be dropped.

Unlike in tried cases, a future Justice Department could reignite the case against Flynn and try him for lying to the FBI.

Recent emails between FBI officials discussing the questioning of Flynn said that they would work to catch him in lies about violating rules precluding non-government officials from doing international work on behalf of the United States without authorization. In Flynn's case, he worked behind the scenes to communicate with Russia prior to Trump being sworn into office.

President Donald Trump thinks that Flynn was "exonerated" because of these emails, however, former federal prosecutors explained that this tactic used by the FBI is Flynn's case is frequently used in every other case. Trump also called out "dirty cops" at the FBI. Trump was the one who fired Flynn after he lied to the Vice President about his interactions with Russia.

The Justice Department wrote that Flynn's false statements were not “material” to the Russia investigation.