'Manafort was an obvious person of interest': Robert Mueller scores a victory after federal judge allows indictment against him to move forward
- A federal judge in Washington DC is proceeding with the criminal case brought forward by special counsel Robert Mueller, regarding Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman.
- US district judge Amy Jackson declined to throw out the case against Manafort, who faces two indictments from the special counsel.
- "Given the combination of his prominence within the campaign and his ties to Ukrainian officials supported by and operating out of Russia, as well as to Russian oligarchs, Manafort was an obvious person of interest," the ruling said.
A federal judge in Washington DC is proceeding with the criminal case brought forward by special counsel Robert Mueller, regarding Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman.
US district judge Amy Jackson declined to throw out the case against Manafort, who faces two indictments from the special counsel. Manafort is charged with tax and bank fraud connected to his lobbying work for the Ukrainian government and pro-Russia interests in Ukraine.
The judge deemed that the indictment "falls squarely within that portion of the authority granted to the Special Counsel," according to The Atlantic staff writer Natasha Bertrand.
"Given the combination of his prominence within the campaign and his ties to Ukranian officials supported by and operating out of Russia, as well as to Russian oligarchs, Manafort was an obvious person of interest," the ruling reads.
Judge Jackson previously dismissed a civil case Manafort filed against Mueller, in which Manafort's attorneys argued that the scope of Mueller's investigation was too broad.
Manafort's lawyers' previous push for dismissal hinged on the argument that because the crimes in question do not directly relate to Mueller's core mandate - investigating whether members of Trump's campaign colluded with Moscow - he was not authorized to charge Manafort with them.
Sonam Sheth contributed reporting.