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Manafort files lawsuit charging Mueller probe is illegal; says he was double-crossed
The Washington Times ^ | December 3, 2018 | Rowan Scarborough

Posted on 01/03/2018 12:30:34 PM PST by jazusamo

Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort is directly challenging Special Counsel Robert Mueller, charging in a law suit filed on Wednesday that the prosecutor lacked the legal authority to investigate and indict him on pre-2016 money laundering charges.

Calling the indictment “fanciful,” attorney Kevin Downing’s suit in U.S. District Court says Mr. Mueller was appointed in May with a mandate to investigate possible Russia-Trump campaign collusion in the hacking of Democrat Party computers.

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


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: fbi; jamescomey; kevindowning; lawsuit; manafort; manafortlawsuit; mueller; muelleroutofcontrol; muellersecialcouncel; paulmanafort; peterstrzok; robertmueller; russia; specialcouncel; trump; trumprussia
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To: dennisw

I don’t understand your point.


101 posted on 01/04/2018 5:18:12 AM PST by robroys woman (So you're not confused, I'm male.)
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To: dennisw

I have heard that they do not allow that. But because I have never been interrogated by the FBI, I do not know for sure. If I were, I would try my best to record it, if it were allowed.


102 posted on 01/04/2018 5:19:09 AM PST by savedbygrace
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To: robroys woman

“How can he lose?”

Partisan Democrat judge


103 posted on 01/04/2018 5:20:41 AM PST by AppyPappy (Don't mistake your dorm political discussions with the desires of the nation)
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To: savedbygrace

more on this BS policy of the FBI. Now I see how Mike Flynn was a fool to talk to them. With your lawyer present at least you have a witness to what was said same as the FBI. Plus your lawyer can take notes same as the FBI does.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2013/05/10/beware-fbi-when-not-recording/yz55UX8WMKU080pN4aP68K/story.html

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130516/18383623114/your-word-against-ours-how-fbis-no-electronic-recording-policy-rigs-game-destroys-its-credibility.shtml

If you secretly- surreptitiously recorded the FBI interview most likely it would not allowed in court and perhaps you would be prosecuted for recording it via your smart phone, MP3 player what have you


104 posted on 01/04/2018 7:04:10 AM PST by dennisw (Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times, it's enemy action)
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To: Jim 0216
There is no independent counsel statute in place anymore, so the President never appoints a "special prosecutor" in any case. The responsibilities for investigating Federal matters fall entirely under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Justice Department -- and that's it.

In this case, the "special counsel" is nothing more than a surrogate for the U.S. Justice Dept. who functions in place of the highest ranking officials in the DOJ in cases where those officials believe they have a conflict of interest. AG Jeff Sessions is responsible for overseeing all of the department's investigative work, and that's it. That's perfectly legitimate under the U.S. Constitution even though the term "U.S. Justice Department" isn't seen anywhere in the constitution.

Robert Mueller isn't some character who has walked in off the street and into a role that was fabricated out of thin air. He was appointed to function as a Federal prosecutor in a matter where both the AG and the Deputy AG have indicated that they had a conflict of interest. Whether they really had a conflict of interest may be subject to debate, but that's their call to make. And up to this point, Mueller's team hasn't prosecuted a single criminal charge that is outside the purview of a Federal prosecutor working to prosecute violations of Federal laws.

You cited the exact reference to his mandate that I had in mind when I said he isn't investigating President Trump. It says he's investigating members of Trump's campaign team, right? Why is that such a problem for you? If someone in Trump's campaign (Mike Flynn, for example) had committed a Federal crime while working in the Trump campaign in 2016, should he be immune from prosecution just because his boss won the election? How is that supposed to work? Of course the Federal law enforcement apparatus should be used to enforce any violations of the law by people who are not subject to the constitutional provisions of impeachment as executive branch members.

You should know better than that, but that tells me you probably don’t understand how the Constitution is the only authority for the feds to do anything.

Then you’ve got a problem finding where the Constitution authorizes a special prosecutor appointed by the President, where the Constitution expressly states that Congress has the SOLE power to impeach.

None of this has anything to do with the matter at hand. Get back to me when Mueller indicts President Trump and tries to prosecute him.

105 posted on 01/04/2018 7:09:38 AM PST by Alberta's Child ("Tell them to stand!" -- President Trump, 9/23/2017)
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To: T Ruth
It's a hard thing to say, but I think that Mueller's real mission is to locate and destroy evidence of criminal wrongdoing by Democrats.

The only problem there is that "destroying evidence" is increasingly difficult in the modern world where there are digital copies of almost everything of importance anyway.

Think of Hillary Clinton's illegal e-mail server. She could delete every file, "bleach" the server, and launch it into the sun on a space mission to ensure that everything was destroyed, but it still wouldn't do anything to deal with the problem that every e-mail has both a sender AND a recipient ... and passes through multiple mail servers between one and the other.

106 posted on 01/04/2018 7:16:39 AM PST by Alberta's Child ("Tell them to stand!" -- President Trump, 9/23/2017)
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To: dennisw

Thank you, Dennis.


107 posted on 01/04/2018 7:20:14 AM PST by savedbygrace
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To: sargon; Democrat_media
Thanks, Sargon.

I understand that a lot of folks get worked up over this sort of thing. I've said all along that we shouldn't be any more concerned about Mueller's investigation than President Trump is -- and he seems not to give a damn about it at all. LOL.

108 posted on 01/04/2018 7:21:21 AM PST by Alberta's Child ("Tell them to stand!" -- President Trump, 9/23/2017)
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To: BradyLS

You and me both, we need more fighters like him.


109 posted on 01/04/2018 7:49:26 AM PST by jazusamo (Have YOU Donated to Keep Free Republic Up and Running?)
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To: Alberta's Child
we shouldn't be any more concerned about Mueller's investigation than President Trump is -- and he seems not to give a damn about it at all. LOL.

Well said, couldn't agree more and thanks for your input on this thread. :-)

110 posted on 01/04/2018 8:05:06 AM PST by jazusamo (Have YOU Donated to Keep Free Republic Up and Running?)
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To: savedbygrace

In honor of the 800,ooo aspiring DACAs...No Problemo!


111 posted on 01/04/2018 9:16:10 AM PST by dennisw (Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times, it's enemy action)
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To: Alberta's Child
The only problem there is that "destroying evidence" is increasingly difficult in the modern world where there are digital copies of almost everything of importance anyway.

Think of Hillary Clinton's illegal e-mail server. She could delete every file, "bleach" the server, and launch it into the sun on a space mission to ensure that everything was destroyed, but it still wouldn't do anything to deal with the problem that every e-mail has both a sender AND a recipient ... and passes through multiple mail servers between one and the other.

Your point is well taken . . . and yet as far as I know, the 33K e-mails that Hilary deleted have not been "recovered."

And is it outré to suggest that what Mueller's team is doing is finding as many of the recipients as they can so as to either destroy or confirm prior destruction of evidence?

112 posted on 01/04/2018 9:55:00 AM PST by T Ruth (Mohammedanism shall be defeated.)
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To: Jim 0216
"I never said a “special investigator” was unconstitutional because it wasn’t mentioned."

You said, "The Mueller probe is illegal BECAUSE it is unconstitutional. I see nowhere in the Constitution the power to create a “special investigator”"

113 posted on 01/04/2018 10:50:56 AM PST by mlo
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To: mlo

I told you what the Constitution doesn’t authorize - the REASON for something called a “special prosecutor”, appointed WITHOUT Congressional approval BY the President (via DOJ) to investigate the President.

Does’t fly.


114 posted on 01/04/2018 12:21:03 PM PST by Jim W N
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To: Alberta's Child

You’ve got more problems with this than Carter has pills.

Where does the Constitution authorize

1) the President (via the DOJ) to appoint a special prosecutor WITHOUT Congressional approval or

2) the President (via the DOJ) to appoint a special prosecutor for the purpose of investigating the President and his affairs including his campaign, when the Constitution expressly states that Congress has the SOLE power to impeach. (cf. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/byron-york-mueller-does-what-special-prosecutors-do/article/2639509 “Mueller was authorized to investigate “any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump.”)

The sole issue in this debate is the constitutionality of federal action here. You have so far failed to show such constitutionality. Get back to me if and when you do.


115 posted on 01/04/2018 12:32:17 PM PST by Jim W N
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To: Jim 0216
Are you suggesting that under the Constitution, every Federal prosecutor appointed by the U.S. Justice Department must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate?

If so, then please cite the provision in the U.S. Constitution where it says this confirmation is required.

If not, then what exactly is the basis of your constitutional objection to the appointment of a special counsel?

You're the one with the bigger problem here. You have taken an appointment of a Justice Department official and extended this appointment to an assumption on your part that Mueller's appointment is the equivalent of the impeachment of the President of the United States. Your logic doesn't follow, and they don't reflect the facts on the ground.

Like I said before ... your input on this thread would be applicable if Mueller actually indicted Trump, but until then it is all just wild speculation on your part about what may or may not happen in the future.

116 posted on 01/04/2018 12:41:05 PM PST by Alberta's Child ("Tell them to stand!" -- President Trump, 9/23/2017)
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To: Alberta's Child
Federal prosecutor appointed by the U.S. Justice Department

1) Depends on whether he is an "Officer" of the U.S. or an "inferior Officer". His role and power might suggests the former. If so, the appointment is under Art II, Sec 2 Cl. 2.

2) Let's assume without agreeing he is an inferior officer. The issue is his ROLE as "special prosecutor" which is to go after the President's campaign which is to go after the President. As I've previously sited, the Constitution gives Congress SOLE power to impeach (which includes going after, investigating, and charging) and try ANY officer including the President (U.S. Const., art. I, sec. 2, cl. 5; art. I, sec. 3, cl. 6

If you cannot site constitutional text accompanied with reasonable explanation that justifies this federal action that is a prima facia violation of these clauses, we're done.

117 posted on 01/04/2018 1:13:42 PM PST by Jim W N
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To: Jim 0216

You are simply a loon, or a troll. If the DOJ is Constitutional, so is the Special Counsel, which is entirely within DOJ rules. If the Special Counsel is unConsitutional, so are are all/were DOJ task forces. No court is going to agree.


118 posted on 01/04/2018 1:24:55 PM PST by jjotto ("Ya could look it up!")
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To: Jim 0216
Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 -- also known as the "Appointments Clause" of the U.S. Constitution -- is exactly right.

The Constitution doesn't mention a U.S. Department of Justice, doesn't mention an Attorney General, and doesn't mention a Deputy Attorney General. These things were all established under U.S. law by statute ... under the provision of this very article of the U.S. Constitution that gives Congress to establish offices "by Law."

There are something like 1,200 positions in the executive branch that require confirmation by the U.S. Senate. How was it determined that these positions, among all the positions in the Federal bureaucracy, required Senate confirmation? That's simple: The confirmation requirements were written into the statutes under which these departments and agencies were originally created by Congress.

The appointment of a Special Counsel by the U.S. Attorney General is covered by Federal statute (28 CFR 600). Unless I'm missing something here, it seems that the statutory authority to establish a position like this would clearly come under the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

119 posted on 01/04/2018 1:29:41 PM PST by Alberta's Child ("Tell them to stand!" -- President Trump, 9/23/2017)
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To: jjotto

Thanks. Ping to #119!


120 posted on 01/04/2018 1:30:18 PM PST by Alberta's Child ("Tell them to stand!" -- President Trump, 9/23/2017)
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