Sidney Powell won a significant victory when her writ of mandamus was granted by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals requiring Judge Sullivan to dismiss the case against General Michael Flynn. At this time, Judge Sullivan has not entered the dismissal. Powell sat down with Jan Jakielek for an extended interview about the case and dropped a few bombs in the process.
Powell began by saying it is extraordinary that Judge Sullivan has not complied with the order. In her experience, this would typically occur within 24-48 hours. The briefing and hearing schedule have both been canceled, but the case has not been formally dismissed. She added that the full court could review the case, but in this circumstance, it would be unprecedented.
Her interest in the case was ongoing before she signed on the replace General Flynn’s prior defense team. Powell reports having ongoing concerns about the case, especially related to Andrew Weismann. Referring to him as the “lead villain” in her book License to Lie, she explained that the prosecutor had a long history of making up crimes, hiding exculpatory evidence, and railroading people with the enormous power of the federal government.
It is clear from the interview that Powell is stunned and dismayed by the decisions of Judge Sullivan in the case. She said he was the hero of her book for his previous Brady evidence rulings in the government’s public corruption case against former Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). Initially, she was pleased that he would be presiding over the case and even wrote articles saying he was a champion of the rights of the accused to receive exculpatory evidence from the prosecution.
She took over the case from Covington and Burling approximately a year ago. Powell said in speaking with General Flynn, she was convinced he was innocent. Therefore no plea deal was going to be appropriate. From the government’s filings, Powell knew there was Brady evidence that had never been provided to Flynn’s legal team.
She filed a lengthy brief detailing the Brady evidence she was seeking and felt confident it would be granted. To her shock, Judge Sullivan did not order the production of the documents the government had listed in their filing. He denied every single one in a scathing response to her motion.
Powell was not aware U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen from the Eastern District of Missouri had been appointed by Attorney General Bill Barr to review the case. However, she began to receive Brady material as a result of that investigation. She also indicated it is her belief that some of what she has received came from the investigation of the U.S. Attorney John Durham, who is looking into the origins of the Russian collusion investigation.
She noted some of the more egregious examples of government misconduct. One was the disclosure in the Inspector General’s report that FBI agent Joe Pientka, who later questioned Flynn, had been brought into a briefing in August 2016 to document his mannerisms. This deception was such a breach that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence now excludes the FBI from these types of briefings.
The biggest bomb Powell dropped is regarding documents she knows exist because of the government’s Brady filing that she has not yet received. One example is a set of text messages between Lisa Page and Peter Strozk discussing the press around the Steele dossier. Apparently, they planned to use the dossier as a pretext to question General Flynn.
Another document she is aware of is a memo inside the D.O.J. from January 30, 2017, that exonerates General Flynn of any wrongdoing related to Russia. This fact is stunning because they created an obstruction of justice investigation into President Trump for a conversation he had with former FBI Director Jim Comey on February 14, 2017. During that conversation, Trump indicated he hoped the Flynn investigation would end soon. Comey should have informed the president then and there that Flynn had been cleared. Instead, he documented the conversation and leaked it to the New York Times.
She agreed with the host that the recently disclosed handwritten notes from former FBI Agent Peter Strozk were stunning. She confirmed that there is some Brady material still under seal, and the longer Judge Sullivan takes to dismiss the case, the longer the government will continue to provide Brady material. As long as the case is active, the government is required to do so.
Powell also discusses her ideas about how to reform the Department of Justice to restore accountability and balance. She feels with the prevalence of plea agreements at 95% in the federal system, the presumption of innocence is at risk. She says reform must occur to eliminate the win-at-all-costs mentality that seems to have gripped both the DOJ and the FBI.
As far as the Flynn case, she is ready to take it to a second crack at SCOTUS if that’s what it takes.
“We are going to continue this fight however long it takes and wherever it goes.”
Stay tuned, as it seems very likely we will be learning more either through the disposition of the Flynn case or through the Durham investigation.
WATCH the full interview:
Join the conversation as a VIP Member