Ex-Trump Campaign Chief 💪 Manafort Loses Bid 👎 to Dismiss Virginia Charges

U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort was dealt a major loss on Tuesday when a federal judge who had previously expressed some sympathy for Manafort refused to dismiss charges brought against him by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.


Judge T.S. Ellis in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that Mueller was properly appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in May 2017 and has the authority to prosecute Manafort.

“Because the Special Counsel’s appointment was consistent with both Constitutional requirements regarding appointment of officers and statutory requirements governing the authority to conduct criminal litigation on behalf of the United States, the Special Counsel had legal authority to investigate and to prosecute this matter and dismissal of the superseding indictment is not warranted,” Ellis wrote in his opinion.

A spokesman for Manafort declined to comment on the ruling.

Tuesday’s decision by Ellis marks the second time now that a federal judge has upheld Mueller’s prosecutorial power - a pattern that could have wide-ranging and important implications as he continues his investigation into whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia.