Attorney General William Barr has appointed an outside prosecutor from St. Louis to review the criminal case against former national security advisor Michael Flynn, the New York Times reported Friday.
Mr. Barr has tapped Jeffrey Jensen, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri to conduct the review. The move comes after Flynn pushed to withdraw his guilty plea, alleging the FBI and prosecutors engaged in misconduct.
Additional prosecutors from Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen’s office, The Times reported.
Internal Justice Department reviews of cases are exceedingly rare and likely to raise a whole new round of questions about political interference by top officials.
The Justice Department erupted a firestorm this week after officials stepped in to reduce the recommended prison sentence for Roger Stone, a longtime friend of President Trump.
Stone who will be sentenced in February was convicted in November of seven felonies, including lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstruction.
Flynn pled guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador during the Trump transition period. He agreed to cooperate with ex-special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Flynn’s relationship with prosecutors soured and he fired his high-powered Washington attorneys last summer. He hired conservative firebrand and outspoken Mueller critic Sidney Powell to represent him.
Originally scheduled to be sentenced on February 27, Judge Emmet Sullivan has postponed the hearing amid Flynn withdrawing his guilty plea. A new date has not been set.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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