U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan announced in an order on Wednesday that he is appointing a former federal judge to deliver arguments against the Justice Department's move to dismiss the case of Michael Flynn.
Flynn briefly served as President Trump's first national security adviser. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, but in January, Flynn and his new legal team attempted to reverse course, with Flynn claiming he was pressured into making the plea. Last week, the Justice Department moved to drop his case, citing "newly discovered and disclosed information."
When entering his plea, Flynn twice declared under oath that he was guilty of lying to the FBI. In his order, Sullivan wrote that retired Judge John Gleeson has been appointed to "present arguments in opposition to the government's motion to dismiss" and "address whether the court should issue an order to show cause why Mr. Flynn should not be held in criminal contempt for perjury."
Gleeson, appointed by former President Bill Clinton to the federal bench in New York, retired in 2016 to enter private practice, Politico reports. Earlier this week, Gleeson co-wrote a Washington Post op-ed saying there has been "nothing regular" about the Justice Department's effort to dismiss the Flynn case, adding, "the record reeks of improper political influence."