WASHINGTON — After announcing that the Justice Department was dropping the criminal case against Michael T. Flynn, the former national security adviser, Attorney General William P. Barr was presented with a crucial question: Was Mr. Flynn guilty of lying to the F.B.I. about the nature of phone calls he had with the Russian ambassador to the United States?
After all, Mr. Flynn had twice pleaded guilty to lying about them.
“Well, you know, people sometimes plead to things that turn out not to be crimes,” Mr. Barr said last week in an interview with CBS News. Then he went even further and described the infamous calls during the Trump presidential transition as “laudable.” Continue reading.