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THREAD: now that the Michael Flynn saga is over, let's talk about all the ways it exposed the rot at the heart of our criminal law system.
Spoiler alert: it's more complicated and more concerning than you think. https://wapo.st/3hYDchu
Spoiler alert: it's more complicated and more concerning than you think. https://wapo.st/3hYDchu
First, this is NOT how it works for poor Black and Brown folks. Prosecutors in their cases do NOT pore over plea deals after the fact, squinting to find infirmities and fighting to undo them. They absolutely SHOULD do this for everyone. But they DO NOT. https://bit.ly/3hXL1Ul
Second, Barr will claim he's striking a blow against misconduct. He's NOT. His reason for dismissing the lying charge is that the lie had to do with Russia and, basically, Russia is a hoax. Ipso facto, the lie was immaterial. That's Trumpist nonsense. https://nyti.ms/37Xj0ry
But here's where it gets complicated - there may have been misconduct in Flynn's case! FBI agents may have withheld favorable info and prosecutors seemed to threaten Flynn's son. That stuff actually DOES happen to "regular" defendants, and it is awful. https://bit.ly/2VeW7uy
If this were Barr's reason for undoing Flynn's plea--that it was coerced via DOJ pressure tactics--I might be on board. Coercive plea bargaining is a cancer on our system. If Flynn needed to fly to make that clear, that's a conversation worth having. http://bit.ly/2RhdzvP
But that's not why. In fact, today's D.C. Circuit ruling implied that judges should never second-guess prosecutors' charging decisions, even if based on misconduct. That is wrong and TERRIFYING for the millions of future defendants nationwide staring down govt's barrel.
So this is your rotten two-tier justice system at work. It's infuriating. But the answer isn't bloodlust for Flynn. Or anger at Stone for getting a light sentence. Or a death wish for Cohen for avoiding COVID in prison while our clients remain trapped. https://nbcnews.to/3dr341L
It's a system that treats everyone just like those guys--or, better yet, a society that doesn't rely on the warped, racist, everybody's-a-nail criminal law to solve our problems in the first place.
