ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) A federal judge asked skeptical questions about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s authority to bring charges against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort on tax and bank fraud charges.
Manafort’s lawyers argued at a hearing Friday, May 4, in Alexandria, Virginia, the charges werefar afield from Mueller’s mandate to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election and whether any collusion occurred.
The Virginia indictment alleged Manafort hid tens of millions of dollars he earned advising pro-Russia politicians in Ukraine from the Internal Revenue Service, all occurring years before Trump ran for president.
Judge T.S. Ellis III suggested the real reason Mueller was pursuing Manafort was to pressure him to “sing” against Trump.
Ellis withheld ruling on dismissal of the indictment.
Manafort was also charged in the District of Columbia.
