The federal judge who denied a Justice Department request to immediately drop the prosecution of former Trump advisor Michael Flynn has hired a high-powered DC attorney to defend his decision.
US District Judge Emmet Sullivan has retained Beth Wilkinson to represent him in a federal appeals court in Washington, The Washington Post reported.
The US District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is currently reviewing whether Sullivan overstepped his authority in the case against the former national security advisor after Flynn’s lawyers tried to force Sullivan to toss Flynn’s guilty plea.
The appeals court set a June 1 deadline for Sullivan to respond to a petition from Flynn’s lawyers asking for the case’s immediate dismissal.
Flynn initially pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about his communications with the Russian ambassador to the US. But the Justice Department earlier this month moved to drop its criminal case against him.
In court documents, the Justice Department said it wanted to drop the case “after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information.”
Wilkinson is known in DC for taking on high-profile defendants. Of late she has most notably represented Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his contentious Senate confirmation hearings.