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 ...
Good for this judge. Too bad Sessions didn’t do this himself...... many months ago.
None, it was the hysterical media and Dems that prompted it, should not have happened.
Maybe. Or one that looked at the paperwork and saw what a corrupt disaster it is and it landing in his courtroom, has realized he better get ahead of this thing, quick, or he’s going down in history as part of the Mueller’s crime syndicate.
I think it’s apparent that, with Mueller’s request for blank subpoena’s with regards to Manafort’s case, he has nothing. All he’s going to do with them, is go after any of Manafort’s business contacts. Manufacture some connection and dig into those people’s lives. If he finds something, he’ll make sure they role on Manafort to avoid federal prison.
Manafort has money and a spine. He isn’t rolling over for Mueller, DOJ, FBI or anyone else. His case is weaker than a fart in a fan factory.
He asked for the evidence that the SC has, of him talking to the Russians. They don’t have it, because there isn’t any.
If the Cohen situation blows up in their face, as it should, Kimba Wood is going down with the ship as a partisan hack that abused her position to aid in this train wreck. It would appear that this judge doesn’t want be a part of the team when it’s all said and done.
Bless this judge—and I mean that most reverently. He is an island of sanity in a sea of Trump-haters.
Amen.
Rush Limbaugh is talking about this right now.
“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.
Agree.....especially since it is clearly NOT related to Sessions foolish recusal.
“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.
Whoa. Rule of law? From a judge? Thanks Red Badger.
That’s what you and I believe. The Left thinks a single judge can determine national policy.
Therein lies the rub, doesn’t it?
They don’t want anyone seeing that document. It has the potential to blow this whole thing wide open. The only way they could keep it from the public is to declare it some type of national security secret. If they try that, then how do the charges against Manafort jibe with that angle.
I think they all thought all the peripheral folks would roll over and do the dying cockroach, on the President. I don’t think they ever envisioned that someone like Manafort would fight back, that Page would provide them with nothing and that it would never get out that their guy at the FBI didn’t think Gen Flynn lied and they charged him anyway.
I don’t like that he criticized but didn’t dismiss... could be virtue signaling before he does the opposite of sane.
Rush opened with this story today.
Pattern. As in the FISA warrants, they again are asking a judge to make a decision while withholding relevant information from him.
I'd slam them.
Heard Rush say today that this judge is a Reagan appointee.
I am very happy to see some judge question the meandering nature of Special Counsels.
Mueller has a certain task; and, I believe he has completed that task when it comes to light that there is no collusion (which I believe happened this week). Yet, he persists, and is wandering around, looking for a crime to hang onto the POTUS. Good for this judge in telling him he is overstepping his mandate.
I can see now that the immense leverage the FBI has over the Executive is he can say you can’t fire me because I might be investigating you, and that would be obstruction of justice. Trump called his bluff. So the SC was appointed to see if he obstructed. Or so I thought.
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