Posted on 01/03/2018 12:40:38 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has sued special counsel Robert Mueller, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and the Department of Justice in U.S. federal court
"The actions of DOJ and Mr. Rosenstein in issuing the Appointment Order, and Mr. Mueller's actions pursuant to the authority the Order granted him, were arbitrary, capricious, and not in accordance with the law," the suit reads.
All actions taken by the special counsel "must be set aside," Manafort's lawyers argue.
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has sued special counsel Robert Mueller, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and the Department of Justice in U.S. federal court, alleging that Mueller has strayed beyond the scope of the investigation he was authorized to pursue.
"The actions of DOJ and Mr. Rosenstein in issuing the Appointment Order, and Mr. Mueller's actions pursuant to the authority the Order granted him, were arbitrary, capricious, and not in accordance with the law," the suit reads.
Manafort's suit alleges the order appointing Mueller "exceeds the Deputy Attorney General's authority." All actions taken by the special counsel "must be set aside," it reads.
The appointment order authorizing Mueller as special counsel permits him to investigate any matters that "may arise directly from the investigation." Experts have said it gives Mueller wide latitude to determine the course of his investigation.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
Now this will get interesting.
Alberta, I don’t think Rosenstein recused himself from Russia probe.
Go Paul, go!
I'd be curious to see if any FR lawyers can chime in on this.
James Comey probably retained his own legal counsel as soon as he heard this news. He’s in the unenviable position of being a potential witness in a civil case where his testimony could actually incriminate him.
Discovery.
Is there a discovery process? If so, Manafort’s attorney gets partial info during discovery. Then Judicial watch uses that partial info in FOIA requests to get more.
Rinse and Reuse.
The DAG doesn’t himself do investigation and courtroom work. He assigns it. Appointing a special counsel indicates the DAG or the White House didn’t trust the normal DOJ employees/US attorneys and FBI.
Take the high ground
Where is the suit pending?
Might be fun to watch.
DC
https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000160-bda4-dcd4-a96b-bdad99e40001
It’s not nearly creative enough. Doesn’t get basic facts right. This is PR and not a serious legal case. Too bad.
First, I believe that the pool of evidence used by the Mueller team and their conflicts of interest are so overwhelming they can indict anyone they want, but will never get a conviction at a formal trial as almost all evidence will be thrown out.
Of course the Mueller goal is to assemble a pack of lies that get pulled together for an impeachment article, which is a political action and not governed by court rules.
This counter suit if allowed, should allow for some very interesting discovery
1. The plaintiff in the case (Manafort) is asking for injunctive relief, which means the lawsuit is limited just to those matters that the court can grant immediately.
2. The ramifications of the request for injunctive relief could put the whole Mueller charade out of business, since they're challenging the very appointment of Mueller by Rosenstein in the first place.
3. The narrative laid out in the case indicates that Manafort's legal team is confident Mueller has no other criminal charges to hang over Manafort's head as leverage to get him to cooperate in pursuit of Trump and his campaign team.
I’ll bet it’s thrown out a first opportunity.
It’s a internal DOJ procedural matter. DOJ task forces operate the same way. No court is going to throw those out.
DC district court. Case # 18-cv-00011
Ultimately, this suit will be successful. Many years from now.
Discovery should be a treat.
The problem is that Mueller had a defined collusion thread to investigate, but ALSO, any other criminal fragment he found along the way.
It was a nasty little directive from the time it was signed, guaranteed free roaming and lots of trouble coming.
The special prosecutor was pushed after Hilldog’s Homey Comey leaked to the media. That had to be unlawful!
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