#JudgeSullivan, United States Judge, popped off in court today, and not in a way that flatters himself:

"Arguably, you sold your country out. You were an unregistered agent of a foreign country while serving as the national security adviser to the president."

#FlynnSentencing

Setting aside that the statement is factually false, there is something about Judge Sullivan politically pious ejaculation in court that commands a closer look. In full disclosure, I don't know the judge but I appeared before him once while practicing in DC.

At that time, and ever after, I have said that I found his treatment of my clients' request to be reasonable and fair ... wrong, for sure, but judges will make errors and sometimes that is just compounded by angry vitriols or personal biases.

So today, as we all know #JudgeSullivan had @GenFlynn before him for sentencing. Much attention in the last week focused on the document #hijinks of the #MuellerGang.

That sentencing had already seemingly reached its climax with a late day filing yesterday of an FD-302 that had been kept from public view or acknowledgment FOREVER.

In fact, against all probabilities, many #Flynn #Supporters held the high hope that Sullivan would bitch slap the #SpecialCounsel, maybe even dismiss the charges. Instead, #Sullivan lost his cool and his self-control when he accused @GenFlynn of -- essentially -- treason.

I've seen judges lose their cool before.

-- Judge T.S. Ellis regularly barked at counsel if they stepped from behind the courtroom podium during argument. (Ellis was in the news recently when he presided over the trial of #PaulManafort).

-- Judge Louis Oberdorfer, fairly freaked out when the DOJ, under the older Bush, refused to participate in enforcing an injunction he had issued against Operation Rescue.

-- Judge Harold Greene - an immigrant who'd risen to the federal bench in Washington, DC - refused an injunction against the National Park Service to protect pro-life demonstrators from arrest because someone unrelated to the case had killed an abortionist a few years before.

But #Sullivan went in another direction, like an ingrown hair.

And, just as an ingrown hair follicle often results in infection, #Sullivan's conduct risks an infection.

There is no knowing for sure if his subsequent expression of regret, in which did not to take responsibility for the words he spoke but instead suggested only that he had not meant for them to take the meaning given them by hearers, reflects genuine regret.

Perhaps that was genuine regret. Perhaps one of his law clerks let him know that thousands of hearty TWITTERNAUTS were describing his words as an accusation of TREASON against Flynn.

So, what's wrong with what Judge Sullivan did?

What's wrong with #Sullivan's conduct is that a judge should uphold the impartiality of the judiciary, should avoid impropriety or its appearance, and should conduct himself impartially.

These aren't my concepts.

You'll find them in the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct.

"Canon 1 A judge shall uphold and promote the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety."

"Canon 2 A judge shall perform the duties of judicial office impartially, competently, and diligently."

The canons provide their own definitions, which includes these:

"'Impartial,' 'impartiality,' and 'impartially' mean absence of bias or prejudice in favor of, or against, particular parties or classes of parties, as well as maintenance of an open mind in considering issues that may come before a judge."

And,

"'Impropriety' includes conduct that ... undermines a judge’s ... impartiality."

Perhaps, given time for sober reflection, #JudgeSullivan will recuse himself from further participation in the sentencing of @GenFlynn.

Perhaps he will invite @GenFlynn and/or his attorneys to request his recusal from the matter and allow their judgment to resolve questions of whether his tantrum is, in portmanteau like fashion, in fact, a #TAINTRUM.

It remains to be seen.

But it does not remain to be seen whether a cool head led the day today ... it did not.