A federal judge can scrutinize the Justice Department’s decision to drop the criminal case against President Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, a federal appeals court in Washington ruled Monday, allowing the legal saga to continue.

The decision from the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit allows U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan to question prosecutors’ unusual move to dismiss Flynn’s case ahead of sentencing. The retired general twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts before Trump took office in 2017.

In an 8-to-2 ruling, the court denied Flynn’s request, backed by the Justice Department, to shut down Sullivan’s planned review and his appointment of a retired federal judge to argue against the government’s position.

The decision by the full court reverses a ruling by a three-judge panel of the same court that ordered Sullivan to immediately close the case.

Judge Thomas Griffith said it would be premature for the appeals court to force Sullivan’s hand before he had rendered a decision.

“Today we reach the unexceptional yet important conclusion that a court of appeals should stay its hand and allow the district court to finish its work rather than hear a challenge to a decision not yet made,” Griffith wrote in a statement concurring with the court’s unsigned opinion. “That is a policy the federal courts have followed since the beginning of the Republic.”

The court also rejected Flynn’s attempt to have his case reassigned to a different judge, finding “no basis for disqualifying” Sullivan….

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They keep this up and Trump IS gonna have to pardon Flynn or things may end up with a Biden Justice Dept. and Flynn is goner then….