Manafort to Sue, Challenge Authority of Mueller And The DOJ
PHOTO: Picture taken of Paul Manafort.
Former-campaign manager for now-President Donald Trump Paul Manafort was one of FBI director Mueller's primary targets. He was scrutinized for months by the special counsel, including in the form of a raid of Manafort's home last summer in which it is believed officials took numerous amounts of documents being hidden from them.
Unlike Michael Flynn or George Papadopolous; Paul Manafort was one of two of the four indictments that had revolved around money laundering. Along with Manafort, Rick Gates had also been indicted by Bob Mueller. A judge found both of them not guilty to their counts and charges proposed by the special counsel.
However, Manafort's lawyers saw Mueller's ambush on Paul Manafort's money ties as an abuse of power and are now challenging the authority that the Department of Justice (DOJ) gave them in terms of their investigations and if it is unlawful.
Recent confirmations by Manafort and his lawyers have confirmed that they are pressing charges and looking to sue Robert Mueller and the Justice Department over the authority given to him; saying it's unlawful for Mueller to have that much power and be able to spread off into separate affairs than the instance of his inquiry.
One big problem with this? Along with the chance that the sum that Manafort is suing Mueller for may obstruct a part of their attempt to prove any unlawful acts by the Trump administration; it's also possible that, if this lawsuit by Manafort's lawyers is proven to be a success, Mueller may lose power to move into Trump's money circle.
President Trump has often times declared his and his family's finances and personal money dealings a 'red line' that Mueller should not cross. This ties in with Trump's deny to promote and publicize his tax returns, which could prove ties to Russia.
All the meanwhile many Democrats and Republicans have issued bipartisan statements suggesting that Manafort's attacks on Mueller likely will not work; and that it's unlikely a judge would approve to limit the special counsel's aims.
Some G.O.P. members have openly criticized the Mueller special counsel within recent weeks after a reported 'bias' being dismissed within two agents part of the counsel; those Republicans are now publicly backing Manafort, saying they hope Mueller's investigations get torn down this way instead.
One question still remains; what are they trying to hide? Many people within Trump's inner-circle have showed American citizens that their ultimate goal is to terminate Mueller's investigation. But in fear of what?
A recent Mount Royal Times opinion-analysis asked this question; if they are innocent, and being accused of treason, collusion and obstruction of justice, why wouldn't these Republicans and the Trump administration want the inquiry to end properly with the proven fact that they're as innocent as they claim? The only reason to run from the result of this investigation is if you know something was unlawfully done.