When retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn stood before Judge Rudolph Contreras in a Washington courtroom on Dec. 1, 2017, and pleaded guilty to making a false statement to two FBI agents during an interview at the White House in January of that year, nobody could have predicted the yearslong absurdity that was about to unfold. It looked as if the case against President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser was over before it ever really started. The Department of Justice (DOJ) never unsealed an actual indictment in the case and prosecutors never had to enter any evidence in a courtroom. There were rumors in the news media in early November 2017, such as this one on Nov. 5 from NBC News, that special counsel Robert Mueller had enough evidence to bring “big charges” against Flynn. When Flynn suddenly appeared in court and pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, without any press conference by prosecutors announcing the unsealing of an indictment, it caught reporters by surprise. That wasn’t the only unusual development in this case. There have been many others. Here are just a few.