Barr defends dropping Flynn case: 'I'm doing the law's bidding'

Barr denied in an interview with CBS News that he was doing the bidding of the President, who had repeatedly lambasted the probe, in carrying out the remarkable reversal.

"No, I'm doing the law's bidding," Barr said.

Barr's comments come following the department's request to drop the case, filed with a federal judge in DC District Court on Thursday, in a sudden end to a protracted legal battle that's lately been fertile ground for Trump to attack the early Russia investigation and former FBI leadership he dislikes.

The filing drew swift criticism from former top FBI officials who had worked on the case and supported the investigation into Flynn, whose lies about his contacts with Russia prompted Trump to fire him three years ago and special counsel Robert Mueller to flip him to cooperate in the Russia investigation.

Barr echoed the legal reasoning to drop the case that was laid out in the Thursday filing, which argued that the lie that Flynn was prosecuted for telling investigators wasn't actually "material" or influential to an investigation.

"A crime cannot be established here. They did not have a basis for a counterintelligence investigation against Flynn at that stage," Barr said, referring to the FBI.

"People sometimes plead to things that turn out not to be crimes," he added.

Barr said that he is expecting criticism from people who view the move as political, adding that he found it "sad that nowadays these partisan feelings are so strong that people have lost any sense of justice."

Barr was also asked how he thought history would look back on dropping Flynn's case as an indication of Barr's decision-making.

"Well, history is written by the winner," Barr replied. "So it largely depends on who's writing the history."

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said Thursday that the department did not brief the White House on its decision to seek to drop the Flynn case.

After suggesting last month that Flynn would be exonerated and referring to the FBI agents as "dirty, filthy cops," Trump said Thursday that Flynn is "innocent."

"I'm very happy for General Flynn," Trump added. "He was a great warrior, and he still is a great warrior, now in my book is an even greater warrior."