A federal appeals court on Monday rejected Michael Flynn’s bid to have his case dismissed at the request of the Justice Department, a ruling that now allows a judge to review the unusual abandonment of a prosecution in which the former Trump national security adviser twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

In an 18-page opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found that Flynn had not demonstrated a need for an intervention preventing U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan of the District of Columbia from proceeding with an inquiry into the Justice Department’s retreat from the prosecution.