KIM STRASSEL: Judge Sullivan’s Final ‘Verdict.’

Judge Sullivan positioned himself as prosecutor, judge, jury and lord high executioner. He went so far as to hire a former federal judge, John Gleeson, to make the case against Mr. Flynn—and Mr. Barr. Mr. Gleeson gave it his all, filing a 30-page brief asserting there was “clear evidence” the motion to dismiss “reflects a corrupt and politically motivated favor unworthy of our justice system.” That implies a grand conspiracy and impugns the reputations of dozens of Justice Department professionals. Yet it turns out the only evidence Mr. Gleeson had for such an outrageous claim was Mr. Trump’s tweets expressing interest in justice for Mr. Flynn.

Meanwhile, have pity (or not) on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which in August naively provided Judge Sullivan the opportunity to dig out—which he disrespectfully declined. A three-judge panel in June ordered Judge Sullivan to drop the case. He appealed, and the full D.C. Circuit agreed to hear his plea. That was a mistake, establishing joint ownership of Judge Sullivan’s malpractice.

The court made a second mistake by wrapping itself in legal knots (with Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan ignoring his own 2016 precedent, known as U.S. v. Fokker Services) to give Judge Sullivan an out, claiming he should at least be provided the opportunity to rule. The appellate court made clear this was a face-saving exercise; it expected Judge Sullivan to dismiss the case quickly. Instead he made fools this week of his higher-court colleagues. He sat on the case for months, and only when forced by a pardon did he issue a ruling in which he made clear he had no intention of granting the Justice Department’s dismissal motion. (Judge Srinivisan’s willingness to remake law at the behest of a rogue judge is worth remembering if his name comes up for elevation to the Supreme Court.)

It was Mr. Comey’s arrogance that dragged the country into the three-year Russia-collusion saga, so perhaps the Sullivan ruling is a natural bookend. It’s a reminder that for all the caterwauling these past four years about the breaking of “norms” and “standards,” the unhinged critics of Mr. Trump have done the most damage to the system.

Earlier: Kamikaze Trump: If Trump is going down, he should take the swamp monsters down with him.