BREAKING: Trump calls Michael Flynn innocent, Obama administration 'human scum'

President Trump defended and praised his former national security adviser Michael Flynn and tore into the administration of former President Barack Obama on Thursday after learning that the Justice Department had dropped its case against Flynn, calling them "human scum."

“He was an innocent man,” Trump said of Flynn during a meeting at the White House with Texas Governor Greg Abbott. “Now in my book he’s an even greater warrior.”

The Justice Department moved to drop its case shortly after internal memos were released that raised serious questions about the nature of the investigation that led to the retired Army lieutenant general's 2017 guilty plea for lying to the FBI.

Those same documents showed how agents deliberated over their motivations for interviewing him in the Russia probe—debating on whether they wanted to "get him to lie" so he would be fired or prosecuted, or force him to admit wrongdoing. Flynn allies have argued that the whole thing was a perjury trap.

In January, Flynn intended to withdraw his guilty plea for lying to the FBI during the Russia probe, citing "bad faith" by the government. That court filing came just days after the Justice Department reversed its course in recommending up to six months of prison time in Flynn's case, alleging that he was not fully cooperating or accepting responsibility for his actions.

The case had been slowly making its way through the court system with no resolution since his original plea. And there was speculation over whether Trump would issue a pardon.

Trump said on Thursday that Flynn was a specific target of the Obama administration and deemed the investigation into his former national security adviser treasonous.

"They're human scum," Trump said. "It's treason."

The president also took aim at the news media for its coverage on Flynn, and called for the New York Times and the Washington Post to return their Pulitzer prizes for coverage on the investigations into Russian interference during the 2016 election.

"Those writers... are thieves," Trump said. "They should be forced to give back Pulitzer prizes."