Robert Mueller is over-reaching his authority, Paul Manafort and Russian company claim
Trump’s former campaign chairman and a Russian business both claim the special counsel cannot prosecute them for crimes unrelated to his election collusion investigation
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the 2016 election drew fire from two of his targets on Monday, when Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman and a Russian company accused of helping fund a propaganda operation each filed motions challenging Mueller’s authority to prosecute them.
Lawyers for Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chief, filed court papers appealing US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s dismissal of a civil suit Manafort brought earlier this year contending that Mueller could not prosecute him for crimes that were not related to the election investigation.
They also say they want a federal appeal court to review Jackson’s order on June 15 to jail Manafort while he awaits trial on several felony charges.
Separately, Concord Management and Consulting, a company prosecutors say is controlled by a businessman dubbed by Russian media as “Putin’s chef”, argued in a filing before District Judge Dabney Friedrich that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein violated the Appointments Clause of the US Constitution when he hired Mueller in May 2017.
As a result, the filing contends, Mueller was unlawfully appointed and lacks prosecutorial authority.
Manafort initially brought the civil case seeking to have Jackson dismiss all charges against him, arguing that Mueller had exceeded his authority by bringing criminal charges unrelated to Russian election interference.