Former State Representative Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) released a video on Tuesday evening comparing his 2014 prosecution for perjury to the legal treatment received by Lt. General Michael Flynn.
Moore is currently in a runoff against Wiregrass businessman Jeff Coleman to be the Republican nominee in the race to represent Alabama’s Second Congressional District.
In 2014, Moore was prosecuted for perjury after it was alleged he lied to a grand jury during a corruption investigation of then-House Speaker Mike Hubbard (R-Auburn). Moore was acquitted on all counts by a Lee County jury.
The video, titled “Not Guilty,” lasts almost six minutes and rehashes from the perspective of Moore’s family what it was like to go through the trial.
In remarks at the beginning of the video and in a release from Moore’s campaign, the candidate ties his experience fighting a perjury trial to Flynn’s recent legal battles.
After a distinguished career in the Army, including service as President Barack Obama’s director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Flynn was chosen by President Donald Trump in 2017 to be the current administration’s first national security advisor.
After 24 days in the administration Flynn resigned at Trump’s request after admitting to deceiving Vice President Mike Pence about conversations Flynn had with Russian diplomat Sergey Kislyak.
It was later revealed through media reports that Flynn was the subject of numerous investigations due to his connections with foreign officials in Turkey and Russia. Most of the investigations originated during the Obama administration but were continued during the early part of the Trump administration.
During one investigation, Flynn made comments to members of the FBI that constituted lies in the mind of then-special prosecutor Robert Mueller.
Mueller decided to charge Flynn with lying to a federal agent, Flynn subsequently plead guilty to the charges.
In recent weeks, notes taken by some of those who investigated Flynn were unsealed by a judge. It has been alleged the notes point to overaggressive and/or unethical tactics by the prosecutors and investigators.
Many conservative politicians, such as former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, have called the documents evidence of a “perjury trap.”
Bill Barr, the current attorney general in the Trump administration, dropped the charges against Flynn in the past few days, a move that caused some controversy in the legal community.
Pence said this week he would be happy to see Flynn back in the Trump administration.
“My heart goes out to General Flynn and his family. Having gone through this same kind of fire, I know just how hard it is on you and your family,” said Moore in a statement.
Moore added that he had to face a “perjury trap that was the same kind of politically-motivated witch hunt” that, in Moore’s view, was experienced by Flynn.
“In both our cases, the truth was finally revealed and justice prevailed,” asserted Moore.
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Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95
