Trump Shows Sympathy for Manafort After Judge Questions Case
- Federal judge expresses skepticism of Mueller’s authority
- Special counsel is prosecuting Manafort for financial crimes
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the NRA annual meeting in Dallas, Texas, on May 4.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergPresident Donald Trump applauded a federal judge who questioned whether Special Counsel Robert Mueller overstepped his authority in his prosecution of Paul Manafort, and expressed sympathy for his former campaign chairman.
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, who was nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1987, expressed skepticism on Friday that the scope of Mueller’s authority allowed him to sign an indictment against Manafort for bank and tax fraud. Ellis questioned whether Mueller, appointed to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign, could prosecute financial crimes dating back a decade without also charging Manafort for crimes related to the election.