Andrew Goldstein, a key prosecutor in cases involving Trump’s allies, has revealed that former Attorney General Bill Barr intervened significantly during these legal proceedings. Goldstein described Barr's involvement as highly unusual for an attorney general. In a conversation with former federal prosecutor Preet Bharara on the "Stay Tuned with Preet" podcast, Goldstein highlighted Barr’s direct influence on the prosecutions of Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, and Roger Stone, a longtime Trump ally. Both men faced charges related to concealing information about alleged ties between Trump and Russia.
Goldstein explained that Barr’s interventions were unexpected, particularly because most attorneys general allow line prosecutors to handle such matters independently. "He inserted himself into the Michael Flynn prosecution, into the sentencing of Roger Stone, in ways that I think many other attorneys general would've stayed away from," Goldstein noted. Barr provided public explanations for his actions, but Goldstein expressed that the level of involvement was atypical for someone in his position.
Both Flynn and Stone were key figures in Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference and the Trump campaign’s possible coordination with the Russian government. Despite evidence that Russia sought to influence the election in Trump’s favor, Mueller’s report concluded that there was no conclusive evidence of direct conspiracy between Trump’s campaign and Russia.
Flynn, who initially pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, received a pardon from Trump in November 2020. His case had been delayed several times, and the Department of Justice ultimately dropped the charges against him in May 2020, while Barr was serving as attorney general. Roger Stone was convicted of seven felonies, including lying to Congress and obstructing justice, and was sentenced to 40 months in prison. However, Trump commuted his sentence before he could serve any time.
Goldstein and his colleague Aaron Zebley, who both worked on the Mueller investigation, recently co-authored the book *Interference: The Inside Story of Trump, Russia, and the Mueller Investigation*. Zebley, reflecting on their experience, expressed surprise at the backlash they faced. “I was quite surprised at the level of hate we received... At the beginning, I thought the country would support an investigation into foreign interference. But over time, that wasn’t always the case,” he said.
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