‘His latest intemperate and arrogant orders encroach on the power to enforce the laws of the United States granted solely to the Executive Branch by the Constitution…’
(Joshua Paladino, Liberty Headlines) Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, said the House should impeach Judge Emmet G. Sullivan for abuse of power.
The activist Bill Clinton appointee, who has presided over former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s case, took the unprecedented step of refusing to accept a Justice Department request to withdraw the case.
Johnson wrote in an op-ed for Newsmax that he would attempt “to initiate an impeachment investigation into the conduct of Judge Sullivan” by introducing a House resolution.
“The judge has hinted that he plans to somehow hold Gen. Flynn in contempt for perjury, a serious display of unchecked government power that is rarely, if ever, used by courts in situations like this,” Johnson wrote.
He said Sullivan has abused his power by ignoring the Constitution’s separation of powers.
“His latest intemperate and arrogant orders encroach on the power to enforce the laws of the United States granted solely to the Executive Branch by the Constitution,” Johnson wrote.
He described the DOJ’s discretion in matters of prosecution as “sole” and “unquestionable.”
From the very outset, Sullivan exerted a partisan influence over the controversial case.
Before sentencing Flynn, Sullivan stepped out of his role as an impartial arbitrator of justice and told Flynn that he had “sold [the] country out,” CNBC reported.
Flynn’s attorney, Sidney Powell, agreed that Sullivan had overstepped his authority by soliciting a dissenting amicus curiae opinion from retired federal judge John Gleeson, who also happened to be a friend of Sullivan’s, Fox News reported.
“The case is over, and his bias is so egregious, he should be removed from the case,” Powell said Tuesday on Sean Hannity‘s Fox News show.
She said case should have ended on May 7 when the DOJ filed its motion to dismiss.
“There are Supreme Court and D.C. Circuit cases that make clear he must grant the motion to dismiss,” Powell said. “That’s a case and controversy issue under the Constitution, a separation of powers issue under the Constitution.”