司法部把麥克弗林的案子改為撤銷 (Justice Dept. moves to drop case against Michael Flynn) 作者: Spencer S. Hsu, Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky 

司法部在周四撤銷對川普總統前國家安全顧問麥克弗林的檢控，一個驚人的逆轉引起了來自執法官員們和民主黨人的指控，刑事司法係統正陷入到這屆政府的政治壓力中。(The Justice Department moved Thursday to drop charges against President Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, a stunning reversal that prompted fresh accusations from law enforcement officials and Democrats that the criminal justice system was caving to political pressure from the administration.)

解除弗林對FBI說謊的有罪請求是發生在經政治上任命的司法部高級官員認定低階的檢察官們和特工們在特別檢察官穆勒進行的調查俄羅斯幹預2016年大選的過程中犯了嚴重錯誤之後。(The unraveling of Flynn’s guilty plea for lying to the FBI came after senior political appointees in the Justice Department determined lower-level prosecutors and agents erred egregiously in the course of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.)

在周四法庭備案的文件裏，司法部說"經過考慮審查所有的事實和這個案子的情況，包括新發現和公開的信息。。。本政府部門的結論是[弗林在2017年1月份與FBI的麵談]是通過FBI對弗林先生進行反情報調查，是不受束縛的，不合理的," 還有"所進行的調查沒有任何合法的調查依據." (In court documents filed Thursday, the Justice Department said that “after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information . . . the government has concluded that [Flynn’s interview by the FBI in January 2017] was untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn,” and that it was “conducted without any legitimate investigative basis.”)

司法部撤銷弗林的案子對川普來說是發了一筆政治橫財。他之前已經宣稱他在考慮要赦免他的前顧問。司法部的決定意味著他將不需要自己介入到弗林的案子裏。(The Justice Department’s abandonment of the Flynn case is a political windfall for Trump, who had already declared that he was considering a pardon for his former adviser. The Justice Department’s decision means he won’t have to become personally involved in the Flynn case.)

川普在2017年2月份逼走了弗林，並當他認罪的時候，總統發了推特:"我必須炒掉弗林將軍，因為他向副總統和FBI撒謊。他已經對那些說謊認罪了。這是個恥辱，因為他在過度時期的行為是合法的。沒有什麽可以隱藏的!" (Trump forced out Flynn in February 2017, and when he pleaded guilty, the president tweeted: “I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!”)

在周四，川普告訴記者們，弗林是"一個更偉大的戰士"，並把起訴他的資深FBI和司法部的官員們稱為"人渣." 總統的律師Jay Sekulow說穆勒"應該為他所允許的，他的特工們和律師們的行為而感到羞愧." (On Thursday, Trump told reporters that Flynn was “an even greater warrior” and called the senior FBI and Justice Department officials who pursued him “human scum.” The president’s lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said Mueller “should be ashamed of the conduct of his agents and lawyers that he allowed.”)

通過一位代言人，穆勒表示拒絕就此事發表評論。司法部的一位女發言人說本司法部並沒有把撤銷此案的決定通報白宮。(Through a representative, Mueller declined to comment. A Justice Department spokeswoman said the department did not brief the White House on the decision to move to dismiss the case.)

司法部尋求去撤銷一個已認罪的案子是非常不尋常的，並且是發生在司法部長[注: 又稱總檢察長]威廉巴爾就另一起穆勒調查的案件對檢察官們施壓，要求為總統的朋友和前政治顧問羅傑斯通提出減輕量刑的建議後的幾個月。(It is highly unusual for the Justice Department to seek to undo a guilty plea, and comes just months after Attorney General William P. Barr pressed prosecutors in another of Mueller’s cases to soften their sentencing recommendation for the president’s friend and former political adviser Roger Stone.)

"司法部長巴爾的司法政治化是無底線的," 眾議院議長南希佩洛西(加州民主黨)說"推翻特別檢察官的報告是沒有先例的，是不尊重法治的." (“Attorney General Barr’s politicization of justice knows no bounds,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). “Overruling the Special Counsel is without precedent and without respect for the rule of law.”)

就在司法部撤銷對弗林的起訴之前沒多久，直接負責此案的檢察官Brandon Van Grack正式退出 - 這跟負責斯通案子的檢察官做的一模一樣。(Shortly before the Justice Department abandoned Flynn’s prosecution, the line prosecutor on the case, Brandon Van Grack, formally withdrew — just as the Stone prosecutors had.)

在新的文件裏， 哥倫比亞區的聯邦檢察官謝伊寫到"繼續起訴這起案子不會為司法公正服務," 但是現在和以前的執法官員們說這個決定是對由來已久的司法部的原則的背叛。謝伊是由巴爾選中來領導聯邦檢察官辦公室的，他是唯一一個在文件上簽字的律師; 沒有其他的職業律師在文件上加上他們的名字。(In the new filing, Timothy Shea, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, wrote that “continued prosecution of this case would not serve the interests of justice,” but current and former law enforcement officials said the decision was a betrayal of long-standing Justice Department principles. Shea, who was tapped by Barr to lead the U.S. attorney’s office, was the only lawyer to sign the filing; no career attorneys affixed their names to it.)

"司法部和法治根基的另一個支柱已經塌了," 一位匿名的聯邦起訴員說，因為他沒被授權來公開談論這個案子。"對此舉的辯解是不可信的，而且將來可能會被犯罪分子用來逃脫合法的起訴." (“Another pillar in the foundation of the Department of Justice and the rule of law has fallen,” said one federal prosecutor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because that person was not authorized to discuss the case publicly. “The justification for this move is not credible, and it may be used by criminals in the future to escape legitimate prosecution.")

文章的篇幅有點長，就翻譯到這吧。司法部根基的一個支柱已經塌了。以後的犯罪分子的辯護律師們也多了一條道。為全世界人民所崇尚的，也是美國立國之寶之一的司法獨立受到了前所未有的挑戰。希望世界不要盲從，希望世界依然清醒。

原文請看下麵的鏈接。