Not the good news you pubbies were gloating about last week . . . LOL
A federal judge on Tuesday denied former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's motion to dismiss the indictment returned against him by a grand jury in Washington, DC -- rejecting Manafort's challenge to special counsel Robert Mueller's appointment.
This is a different judge. This is from the judge in DC. Manafort made this argument two weeks ago. The other case is in Virginia and that judge has not ruled.
The judge in DC wrote a strong opinion and that should have some impact on the ruling in the Virginia case.
Here is a link to the opinion https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4463449/ABJManafort.pdf
From the opinion :
Manafort points to no legal requirement or Departmental policy, and there is nothing in any statute or the Special Counsel Regulations, that would require the prosecutor to look away if the duly authorized investigation into those links revealed evidence of a crime other than “coordination.” The Appointment Order specifically provided: “if the Special Counsel believes it is necessary and appropriate, the Special Counsel is authorized to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation of these matters.” Appt. Order ¶ (c); see also 28 U.S.C. § 515 (“[A]ny attorney specially appointed by the Attorney General under law, may . . . conduct any kind of legal proceeding, civil or criminal, including grand jury proceedings . . . , which United States attorneys are authorized by law to conduct.”); 28 C.F.R. § 600.6 (“[T]he Special Counsel shall exercise, within the scope of his or her jurisdiction, the full power and independent authority to exercise all investigative and prosecutorial functions of any United States Attorney.”). 10 Thus, the indictment was authorized by the portion of the Appointment Order that Manafort does not challenge. Since the investigation into and the indictment for the pending charges fell within the unchallenged first paragraph of the Appointment Order, Manafort’s motion to dismiss can be denied for that reason alone.
Have a nice day.
A federal judge on Tuesday denied former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's motion to dismiss the indictment returned against him by a grand jury in Washington, DC -- rejecting Manafort's challenge to special counsel Robert Mueller's appointment.
This is a different judge. This is from the judge in DC. Manafort made this argument two weeks ago. The other case is in Virginia and that judge has not ruled.
The judge in DC wrote a strong opinion and that should have some impact on the ruling in the Virginia case.
Here is a link to the opinion https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4463449/ABJManafort.pdf
From the opinion :
Manafort points to no legal requirement or Departmental policy, and there is nothing in any statute or the Special Counsel Regulations, that would require the prosecutor to look away if the duly authorized investigation into those links revealed evidence of a crime other than “coordination.” The Appointment Order specifically provided: “if the Special Counsel believes it is necessary and appropriate, the Special Counsel is authorized to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation of these matters.” Appt. Order ¶ (c); see also 28 U.S.C. § 515 (“[A]ny attorney specially appointed by the Attorney General under law, may . . . conduct any kind of legal proceeding, civil or criminal, including grand jury proceedings . . . , which United States attorneys are authorized by law to conduct.”); 28 C.F.R. § 600.6 (“[T]he Special Counsel shall exercise, within the scope of his or her jurisdiction, the full power and independent authority to exercise all investigative and prosecutorial functions of any United States Attorney.”). 10 Thus, the indictment was authorized by the portion of the Appointment Order that Manafort does not challenge. Since the investigation into and the indictment for the pending charges fell within the unchallenged first paragraph of the Appointment Order, Manafort’s motion to dismiss can be denied for that reason alone.
Have a nice day.
