Convictions tossed out against ex-Flynn business partner

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - A federal judge has tossed out the convictions of a one-time business partner of former national security adviser Michael Flynn who was accused of acting as a Turkish foreign agent.

U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga ruled Tuesday that the evidence against Bijan Kian was insufficient to sustain a conviction even though a jury convicted him at a trial earlier this year.

Trenga had expressed doubts about the government's case throughout the trial.

The case spun off from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian election interference.

Prosecutors opted against putting Flynn on the stand even though he had been expected to be the star witness.

Prosecutors alleged Kian and Flynn were acting at Turkey's behest when they undertook a project to discredit an exiled cleric wanted by Turkey's government.