WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in Virginia has rejected President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman’s move to throw out charges brought by the special counsel in the Russia investigation.
The decision Tuesday was a setback for Paul Manafort in his defense against numerous tax and bank fraud charges. Manafort had argued that special counsel Robert Mueller had exceeded his authority because the case was unrelated to Russian election interference.
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III issued the ruling. Ellis had previously grilled Mueller’s team, questioning whether they brought the case to get Manafort to testify against Trump.
Prosecutors had argued that Mueller was within his authority, citing an August 2017 memo from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The memo shows Rosenstein authorized Mueller to investigate Manafort’s Ukrainian work and related financial crimes.
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