The Justice Department is dropping criminal charges against Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser.
In documents filed Thursday in federal court in Washington, D.C., the Justice Department was dropping the case “after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information.”
“The Government has concluded that the interview of Mr. Flynn was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn," the filing said.
Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI as part of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The filing said, "The Government is not persuaded that the January 24, 2017 interview was conducted with a legitimate investigative basis and therefore does not believe Mr. Flynn’s statements were material even if untrue."
The filing was put in hours after the original prosecutor on the case, Brandon Van Grack, filed papers withdrawing from the case.