OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Retired three-star general Mike Flynn criticized the justice system and the U.S. Supreme Court in particular during a recent podcast where he discussed the fate of several Americans who remain jailed after being arrested for alleged crimes during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol Building.
Flynn appeared on the podcast with one of the prisoners, Jake Lang, who was arrested and confined shortly after the incident without bond and without trial. During the podcast, Flynn laid into the nation’s highest court and in particular, Chief Justice John Roberts, ostensibly for failing to act on behalf of Americans he believes have been denied constitutional rights and due process under the law.
He said (around the 13:00 mark in the video below):
Exculpatory evidence is something that I learned quite a bit about because the FBI and the Department of Justice but remember, folks, the FBI works for the Department of justice, and the Attorney General is the head of the Department of Justice. And then, of course, they work for the President of the United States. So when somebody goes, well, they’re appointed, or whatever…. No.
So … exculpatory evidence is evidence that is good or bad for a defendant, right? It can be good or bad, but you have to receive it. It’s a Supreme Court ruling that you have to receive it. Exculpatory evidence could be video….
Trust me, Jake, the Department of Justice, not only in your case but in all these cases, is withholding exculpatory evidence. They did it to me, and they did it in a huge way. And, of course…honestly, it took a miracle to get to where I was at, where a special counsel was brought in because it was so egregious. And in my own dismissal, the Department of Justice had to admit that they committed a crime against me. And so I guarantee that there’s a ton of exculpatory evidence being withheld.
Then, at around the 18:00-mark, Flynn, who served a short stint as then-President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, turned his ire at the Supreme Court and Roberts.
“The United States Supreme Court, they have a role in all of this. They have a role to protect the integrity of the justice system, the judiciary, particularly the judiciary, in fact, specifically the judiciary. When we look at somebody…and there’s constitutional issues that are being violated, your rights are being violated constitutionally. So where the hell is Justice Roberts? Where is Chief Justice Roberts?” he said.
“The justices on that court, especially the chief justice, they have an obligation to protect the integrity of the Constitution and the integrity of the judiciary because they’re the highest court in the land. And so I kind of question, like, where the hell are they? I mean, they cannot sit there and say, well, we didn’t know. We’re not aware,” he added.
WATCH:
Separately, Rolling Stone reported earlier this month that Flynn has filed a $50 million lawsuit against the federal government, alleging he was maliciously prosecuted over allegations he held improper discussions with a Russian diplomat during the transition period between the 2016 November election and Trump’s inauguration the following January.
The origin of the lawsuit dates back to a 2016 FBI investigation that occurred during the Obama administration, which examined Flynn’s alleged links to Russia. In 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his connections with Russian contacts. Following the 2020 election, Trump granted Flynn a pardon.
“This lawsuit seeks accountability and damages against the United States for these wrongs committed against General Flynn through its agents and agencies,” reads the filing, calling his prosecution “wrongful and malicious” and a “gross abuse of process,” according to Rolling Stone.
The filing says that due to the federal govenrment’s actions, Flynn was “falsely branded as a traitor to his country, lost at least tens of millions of dollars of business opportunities and future lifetime earning potential, [and] was maliciously prosecuted and spent substantial monies in his own defense.”
Subsequent investigations did not turn up any evidence that Flynn was an ‘agent’ of Moscow, nor was anyone else in Trump’s orbit.
“Defendants named in the filing include the Department of Justice, FBI, former Special Counsel Robert Muller, former FBI Director James Comey, and former FBI employees Peter Strzok and Lisa Page,” Rolling Stone added.
