On Thursday, a panel of judges from the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered District Judge Emmet Sullivan to respond to former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's appeal to have his case dismissed immediately.
The appellate judges considering the matter were Karen LeCraft Henderson, an appointee of George H. W. Bush, Robert Wilkins, an appointee of Barack Obama, and Neomi Rao, an appointee of Donald Trump.
The order gives Sullivan ten days to issue his response.
Sullivan declined immediately to dismiss the case against Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators about his contacts with Russia before changing course and trying to have his plea thrown out. Department of Justice officials have moved to drop the charges, endorsing Trump's claims of misconduct against Flynn despite the judge finding no such evidence. Sullivan is inviting outside parties to file friend of court briefs advising on how to proceed.