US judge questions Robert Mueller’s authority to indict Paul Manafort

A federal judge considering the charges brought against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort has sharply criticised the case, questioning whether special counsel Robert Mueller has exceeded his prosecutorial powers by bringing it.

“I don’t see what relationship this indictment has with anything the special counsel is authorised to investigate,” said US District Judge Thomas Shelby Ellis III in the Easer District of Virginia on Friday.

The judge said Mr Mueller should not have “unfettered power” in his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, and that the charges brought against Mr Manafort did not come from the time period Mr Mueller had been tasked with investigating.

“It’s unlikely you’re going to persuade me the special counsel has unfettered power to do whatever he wants,” Judge Ellis, who was appointed to the bench by Republican president Ronald Reagan, said.

Mr Manafort has tried to have the charges thrown out, with his lawyers making the argument that the case is out of Mr Mueller’s investigatory scope, but this is the first time a judge has appeared to agree with that position.

Kevin Downing, Mr Manafort’s attorney, has argued the charges should be dropped because the original FBI investigation into the political adviser dated back to 2014, meaning the allegations did not arise from Mr Mueller’s probe.

Michael Dreeben, the deputy solicitor general who is currently working with Mr Mueller’s office, admitted the Russia probe had inherited the investigation into Mr Manafort, but said that they do have the investigatory scope to cover the allegations.

“Our investigative scope does cover the activity in the indictment,” Mr Dreeben said.

“Cover Bank fraud in 2005 and 2007? Tell me how!” Mr Ellis responded.

Mr Manafort faces several charges including bank fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering, and has pleaded not guilty.

Mr Mueller’s investigation has requested more than 100 blank subpoenas ahead of the coming trial of Mr Manafort, assuming that the charges are not thrown out.

Mr Manafort has previously been deemed a flight risk by Mr Ellis, who wrote in a court filing addressing the matter: “Specifically given the nature of the charges against the defendant and the apparent weight of the evidence against him, defendant faces the very real possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.”

Before working on Mr Trump’s campaign, Mr Manafort was a well known political operative in Republican circles, and had previously worked in a similar role in Ukraine.