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U.S. judge questions special counsel's powers in Manafort case
www.reuters.com ^ | 05/04/2018 | Sarah N. Lynch

Posted on 05/04/2018 9:00:17 AM PDT by Red Badger

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday sharply criticized Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s criminal case in Virginia against President Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and openly questioned whether Mueller exceeded his prosecutorial powers by bringing it.

“I don’t see what relationship this indictment has with anything the special counsel is authorized to investigate,” U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis in the Eastern District of Virginia said.

At tense hearing at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, the judge said Mueller should not have “unfettered power” in his Russia probe and that the charges against Manafort did not arise from the investigation into Moscow’s alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

Manafort is facing charges in both Virginia and Washington. The Virginia case charges him with offenses including tax and bank fraud. The other case accuses him of conspiring to launder money and failing to register as a foreign agent when he lobbied for the pro-Russia Ukrainian government.

None of the charges relate, however, to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign or possible collusion with Russia. Trump has denied any collusion.

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Government; US: District of Columbia; US: Virginia
KEYWORDS: 20170502; 201708; 201805; alexandria; coup; deepstate; dreeben; impeachment; judgeellis; lisapage; manafort; manafortjudge; michaeldreeben; mikedreeben; muelleroutofcontrol; obamagate; paulmanafort; peterstrzok; redacted; robertmueller; rosensteinmemo; scopememo; tsellis; tsellisiii; ukraine; virginia
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1 posted on 05/04/2018 9:00:17 AM PDT by Red Badger
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To: Red Badger

Did we accidentally stumble across a sane judge?


2 posted on 05/04/2018 9:02:12 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizen Means Born Here of Citizen Parents__Know Islam, No Peace - No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: Lurkinanloomin

In the DC area!...........


3 posted on 05/04/2018 9:02:37 AM PDT by Red Badger (Remember all the great work Obama did for the black community?.............. Me neither.)
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To: Red Badger

Well, of course witch hunts are unbounded and open-ended. Stupid judge. /sarc


4 posted on 05/04/2018 9:03:07 AM PDT by fwdude (History has no 'sides;' you're thinking of geometry.)
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To: Red Badger

Weren’t these issues previously investigated?

Has Mueller found any new and relevant facts?

Why hasn’t this litigation been transferred to a local US Attorney?


5 posted on 05/04/2018 9:03:14 AM PDT by Paladin2
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To: Red Badger

Words for attention or words for action?


6 posted on 05/04/2018 9:03:21 AM PDT by Reno89519 (No Amnesty! No Catch-and-Release! Just Say No to All Illegal Aliens! Arrest & Deport!)
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To: Red Badger

Oh Noes!

A FedJudge who’s off the rez!

Quick, someone call the Clinton Suicide Implementation team for remediation!

“He was walking home at 3 AM in the morning when he was overcome with anguish and depression and shot himself 5 times”


7 posted on 05/04/2018 9:04:35 AM PDT by Regulator
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To: Lurkinanloomin

A Reagan appointee. On appeal, there will be easily, 5 insane judges to follow .


8 posted on 05/04/2018 9:05:23 AM PDT by CaptainK ("no collusion, no obstruction, he's a leaker")
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To: Reno89519

?


9 posted on 05/04/2018 9:05:25 AM PDT by Red Badger (Remember all the great work Obama did for the black community?.............. Me neither.)
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To: Red Badger

If the judge cannot see clear, public authorization, he should quickly dismiss the charges with prejudice. End the witchhunt.


10 posted on 05/04/2018 9:05:43 AM PDT by Reno89519 (No Amnesty! No Catch-and-Release! Just Say No to All Illegal Aliens! Arrest & Deport!)
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To: Red Badger

Wow.

This kind of thing is what Mueller was afraid of in EDVA and why he quickly empanelled a second grand jury across the river in more swamp-friendly DC where he is more likely to get a rubber stamp.


11 posted on 05/04/2018 9:05:57 AM PDT by Meet the New Boss
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To: Regulator

at the very end..

He also asked the special counsel’s office to share privately with him a copy of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosentein’s August 2017 memo elaborating on the scope of Mueller’s Russia probe. He said the current version he has been heavily redacted.


12 posted on 05/04/2018 9:06:36 AM PDT by janetjanet998
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To: Red Badger

See 10. The judge can talk all he wants, get attention, but will he act? Will he dismiss the charges? That is my question and the real matter at hand. Words without actions are meaningless.


13 posted on 05/04/2018 9:06:50 AM PDT by Reno89519 (No Amnesty! No Catch-and-Release! Just Say No to All Illegal Aliens! Arrest & Deport!)
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To: janetjanet998

from CNN

Reagan appointee

You don’t really care about Mr. Manafort’s bank fraud,” District Judge T.S. Ellis said to prosecutor Michael Dreeben, at times losing his temper. Ellis said prosecutors were interested in Manafort because of his potential to provide material that would lead to Trump’s “prosecution or impeachment,” Ellis said.
“That’s what you’re really interested in,” said Ellis, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan.


14 posted on 05/04/2018 9:08:24 AM PDT by janetjanet998
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To: Lurkinanloomin

The judge has asked for an unredacted copy of Rosie’s memo to Mulehead about jurisdiction. That will get it into the public record. Failure to provide will require the judge to dismiss the case.


15 posted on 05/04/2018 9:09:44 AM PDT by Louis Foxwell (Islam is Satans finest work.)
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To: Red Badger

Why is it Clapper can lie and the statute of limitations apply but something from before 2012 is fair game? If there are two sets of laws they ought to be issued when we register.

Republican.....obey the law
Democrat........corrupt, lawless, vile and detestable


16 posted on 05/04/2018 9:10:14 AM PDT by McGavin999 ("The press is impotent when it abandons itself to falsehood."Thomas Jefferson)
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To: janetjanet998; hoosiermama; NIKK

Judge busted them (Mueller) for trying to create a crime.

Good news!!


17 posted on 05/04/2018 9:11:02 AM PDT by Jane Long (Praise God, from whom ALL blessings flow.)
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To: Louis Foxwell

from CNN

Ellis said prosecutors may present the full classified memo to him under seal — without showing Manafort its additional details — in two weeks.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/04/politics/paul-manafort-hearing/index.html


18 posted on 05/04/2018 9:11:14 AM PDT by janetjanet998
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To: Louis Foxwell

Boom!


19 posted on 05/04/2018 9:11:25 AM PDT by Jane Long (Praise God, from whom ALL blessings flow.)
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To: Regulator
"and shot himself in the head 5 times”
20 posted on 05/04/2018 9:12:04 AM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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