By Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle a lawsuit from Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser in his first term, over his since-abandoned prosecution for lying to the FBI about his talks with a Russian official, according to a court document and a source familiar with the case.
The settlement was revealed in a brief filing in federal court in Tampa, Florida. The terms were not disclosed, but the source said Flynn would receive about $1.25 million from the federal government as part of the deal.
Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general who briefly served as Trump’s national security adviser, twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the United States in the weeks leading up to Trump’s first inauguration in January 2017. He later sought to undo the plea deal, arguing that prosecutors violated his rights and duped him into a plea agreement.
The Justice Department under former Attorney General Bill Barr made the unusual decision to seek dismissal of the case in 2020. A federal judge was mulling that request when Trump pardoned Flynn later that year, saying he had been treated unfairly by the legal system.
A Justice Department spokesperson portrayed the settlement as an attempt to correct the “historic injustice” of the DOJ’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and potential obstruction by Trump and his allies. The probe led to the case against Flynn and several other Trump associates during his first term.
“This Department of Justice will continue to pursue accountability at all levels for this wrongdoing,” the spokesperson said. “Such weaponization of the federal government must never be allowed to happen again.”
Flynn also depicted the settlement as making amends for past wrongdoing.
“This small measure of accountability should help the nation heal regarding the abuses of the past,” Flynn said in a statement. “It allows my family and me to move forward.”
Flynn sued the Justice Department in 2023, alleging he was maliciously prosecuted as part of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference. His lawsuit sought at least $50 million in damages.
The Justice Department under Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration fought Flynn’s lawsuit, noting that he had pleaded guilty to the charges and had not made a showing that the case was unsupported by evidence. A federal judge dismissed the case in 2024, but gave Flynn the option to file a revised complaint.
Flynn revived the case last year after Trump returned to office.
Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, condemned the DOJ’s use of taxpayer money to settle with Flynn.
“It undermines the rule of law, demeans the work of the men and women who safeguard our national security, and suggests that accountability depends on who you are and who you know, not what you’ve done,” Warner said in a statement.
The Justice Department in Trump’s second term has dismissed several cases it formerly pursued against Trump allies. Trump has railed against Mueller’s investigation for years, and upon learning of the former special counsel’s death last week, he posted on social media, “Good, I’m glad he’s dead.”
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Andy Sullivan, Daniel Wallis and Nia Williams)
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