Trump-appointed judge becomes fourth to uphold Robert Mueller's power to prosecute in Russia...
Last edited Mon Aug 13, 2018, 10:58 AM - Edit history (1)
Source: RawStory
Trump-appointed judge becomes fourth to uphold Robert Mueller’s power to prosecute in Russia investigation
District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich rejected an attempt to have special counsel Robert Mueller removed from the Russia investigation.
Attorneys for Russian oligarch-owned Concord Management and Consulting LLC, which has been indicted by Mueller, recently argued in court that the special counsel’s appointment is unconstitutional because he was not appointed by the president or attorney general. But in a 41-page ruling released on Monday, Dabney rejected the defendant’s argument.
Point-by-point, Dabney dismantled Concord Management’s attack on Mueller. According to the judge, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein acted properly when he appointed Mueller because Attorney General Jeff Sessions had recused himself from the investigation.
The decision makes Dabney, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, the fourth judge to uphold Mueller’s appointment.
Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/2018/08/trump-appointed-judge-becomes-fourth-uphold-robert-muellers-power-prosecute-russia-investigation/
Trump-appointed judge upholds Mueller's legitimacy
By KYLE CHENEY 08/13/2018 10:29 AM EDT
A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump ruled Monday that special counsel Robert Mueller's probe is constitutional and legitimate, rejecting an effort by a Russian company -- accused of financing a massive political influence operation in the United States -- to stamp out the ongoing investigation.
Judge Dabney Friedrich, who Trump appointed to the U.S. District Court of Washington D.C. last year, is the fourth judge to quash efforts to upend Mueller's legitimacy and cancel his investigation. Judges overseeing the two trials of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort -- D.C. judge Amy Berman Jackson and Eastern District of Virginia Judge T.S. Ellis -- rejected Manafort's bid to invalidate Mueller.
Earlier this month, the D.C. circuit's Chief Judge Beryl Howell issued a lengthy ruling rejecting similar legal arguments offered by Andrew Miller, a longtime associate of Trump confidant Roger Stone, who was attempting to beat back a subpoena to testify before Mueller's grand jury. Miller's lawyer, Paul Kamenar, told POLITICO on Monday morning that Miller still intends to appeal the decision. Last week, Miller was held in contempt of court for again ignoring the grand jury subpoena, a move Kamenar said was necessary in order to pursue his appeal.
Mueller indicted the Russian company, Concord Management, in February along with 13 individual Russians — including Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The indictment alleges that Concord, Prigozhin's firm, funded and organized an army of internet trolls, the purchase of social media ads and even directed operatives to travel to the United States to set up political rallies. Their goal, Mueller alleged, was to sow discord in the 2016 U.S. election and ultimately assist Donald Trump's candidacy.
Concord pleaded not guilty to the charges and though the indicted Russians aren't expected to participate in the proceedings, the firm tapped American attorneys to represent it in court, a move seen as an attempt to gain insight into the evidence Mueller has gathered.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/13/mueller-legitimate-court-ruling-774888
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