A former federal judge tasked with reviewing the Department of Justice’s motion to dismiss former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s case called it “clear evidence of a gross abuse of prosecutorial power” and said the request should be denied.

The AP reports: “Former U.S. District Judge John Gleeson said in a filing Wednesday that the government ‘has engaged in highly irregular conduct to benefit a political ally of the President.'”

The DOJ’s decision was denounced in May by former president Barack Obama: “The news over the last 24 hours I think has been somewhat downplayed — about the Justice Department dropping charges against Michael Flynn. And the fact that there is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free. That’s the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic — not just institutional norms — but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk. And when you start moving in those directions, it can accelerate pretty quickly as we’ve seen in other places.”

The decision on whether or not to dismiss Flynn’s case will come from U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who appointed Gleeson, and an appeals court.