Kimberley Strassel (“Barr vs. the Beltway,” Potomac Watch, May 15) says that U.S. intelligence agencies were “listening in on Mr. Flynn from the start.” They were listening in on Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak when they first heard Gen. Michael Flynn’s voice and were instantly alerted to maneuverings that were going on behind the current administration’s back. Does a national security adviser to the president really need a Miranda warning before talking to the FBI?
President Trump brought in Attorney General William Barr to rearrange the Justice Department to his liking. It’s little wonder that a highly respected judge like Emmet G. Sullivan would bring in Judge John Gleeson to help correct Mr. Barr’s overreaching abuses of justice.
Jim Walters
Iowa City, Iowa
The Michael Flynn case illustrates a disturbing fact about the American criminal justice system. Too often, the government isn’t required to prove its case in court, and instead wins by getting the defendant to plead guilty, often to a single lesser charge. Pleading guilty, even if innocent, may be the only way for a person accused of a crime to avoid a lengthy pretrial detention, a ruinously expensive legal defense and the risk of a much longer prison term if convicted after trial.
James G. Russell
Midlothian, Va.
Copyright ©2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8