Former House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy responded to what he characterized as “an amazing statement” from former President Barack Obama, who said the rule of law was “at risk” after the Justice Department dropped its case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Obama: Rule of Law is ‘At Risk’
“Where is [Obama’s] respect for the rule of law for the crime that Michael Flynn was the victim of?” said Gowdy on Fox News on Sunday, where he is a contributor.
@BarackObama is panicking – Truth is “unmasking” him … No thanks to the liberal media who still tries to protect their guy: “…he was unmasked by somebody in Obama’s administration and then it was leaked… that is a 10-year felony…” https://t.co/dhvMi8dObo
— Ken Smith (@klsmithjr) May 10, 2020
“Remember, he was unmasked by somebody in Obama’s administration and then it was leaked… that is a 10-year felony, to disseminate classified information,” Gowdy said. “Michael Flynn was a victim of that crime.”
The DOJ decided to end its case against Flynn after internal memos emerged that raised questions about the origin and nature of the investigation that led to Flynn’s guilty plea for lying to the FBI in 2017.
Gowdy: ‘President Obama himself pardoned people for making false statements’
“President Obama himself pardoned people for making false statements to the government,” Gowdy noted. “He picked [Justice Department Inspector General] Michael Horowitz, that was an Obama pick.”
“Michael Horowitz found fault after fault after fault with the FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] program and [former FBI Director] Jim Comey and [former FBI Deputy Director] Andy McCabe, so I am delighted to hear President Obama’s newfound interest and respect for the rule of law,” Gowdy continued. “I just wish he would apply it equally to Republicans and Democrats.”
Gowdy then took direct aim at Obama directly.
“The FBI used a dossier that was bought and paid for by your political party without vetting a single factual allegation in that dossier,” he said. “You put it in front of a federal judge, where is your concern for respect for the rule of law as it relates to Carter Page and what happened to him?”
Trey Gowdy shares some choice words for Obama after he said the "rule of law is at risk" and directs a message at Emmet Sullivan, the judge presiding over the Flynn case, about the prospect of not granting the DOJ's motion to dismiss — https://t.co/C7gWcOzBxt — @dcexaminer pic.twitter.com/KVs4VNnVz3
— Daniel Chaitin (@danielchaitin7) May 10, 2020
Host Maria Bartiromo noted that even though the DOJ moved to end its case against Flynn, the federal judge overseeing the case still has to make the final determination to end it.
“The judge can sit there and not know whether or not he’s going to grant that motion to dismiss,” Gowdy said. “Good luck prosecuting the case, judge. You got to have a prosecutor to prosecute the case, so if the DOJ is not moving forward on Michael Flynn, I don’t think the judge is going to do it himself.”