What’s up with Judge Emmet Sullivan!! As noted in this diary from a few days ago www.dailykos.com/…
the DOJ, in perhaps the only time in U.S. history, just filed a notice with the court on Friday telling the U.S. Federal District Judge, who has a lifetime appointment and godlike powers, to stuff himself!
This was over a dispute about the Michael Flynn sentencing. The judge ORDERED the DOJ to give him a transcript of the surveilled conversation(s) between Flynn and Russian Ambassador/Spy Master Kislyak.
The DOJ didn’t follow any normal procedures. They didn’t submit anything under seal pleading national security concerns. They didn’t plead any special circumstances. They just basically said: Screw you, judge, we don’t think you need that and you’re not going to get it.
That’s a MAJOR constitutional crisis. I had thought that Judge Sullivan, who is said to be a very strong judge, would have stewed over the weekend and then issued a show cause order TODAY demanding that AG Barr and the prosecutors prove they’re not in contempt of court.
I wonder what pressure the judge is under (since I don’t think we’re in a lawful republic anymore). I wonder what he is planning to do. THIS IS IMPORTANT!
Update: Thanks to polliwonk’s comment below for this link to an emptywheel post that gives a learned discussion of all of this and discloses that Judge Sulliven has scheduled a hearing on this mess for June 24th. www.emptywheel.net/...
That’s not as meteoric as I’d hoped for; but emptywheel’s post taught me that this situation is much more complicated than I had understood.