Ex-judge says push to dismiss Flynn case is abuse of power

WASHINGTON (AP) – A former federal judge appointed to review the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss criminal charges against President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn said there was evidence of a “gross abuse” of prosecutorial power and that the request should be denied.

Former U.S. District Judge John Gleeson said in a filing Wednesday the government “has engaged in highly irregular conduct to benefit a political ally of the President” and argued that Flynn had committed perjury.

Flynn pleaded guilty, as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, to lying to the FBI about conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States during the presidential transition period.