Paul Manafort is suing Robert Mueller and the Department of Justice
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- Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is suing special counsel Robert Mueller, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and the US Department of Justice.
- Manafort is accusing Rosenstein of exceeding his power by appointing Mueller to investigate the Trump campaign's ties to Russia and "any matters that arose or may arise directly from" the initial inquiry.
- Manafort pleaded not guilty in October to 12 counts related to money laundering, tax fraud, and conspiracy against the US.
Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, filed a civil lawsuit against special counsel Robert Mueller, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and the US Department of Justice, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
Manafort alleged in the lawsuit that Rosenstein overstepped the scope of his authority when he appointed Mueller to investigate not just "links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump," but also "any matters that arose or may arise directly from" the investigation.
The appointment order, Manafort's suit alleges, "in effect purports to grant Mr. Mueller carte blanche to investigate and pursue criminal charges in connection with anything he stumbles across while investigation, no matter how remote from the specific matter identified as the subject of the Appointment Order."
By looking into his finances and offshore business dealings that go as far back as 2005, Manafort alleged that Mueller's scrutiny went "far beyond" investigating whether there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian actors.
Mueller's office charged Manafort and his longtime associate, Rick Gates, in October with 12 counts related to money laundering, tax fraud, failing to register as foreign agents, and conspiracy against the US.
When Trump first hired Manafort in March 2016, Manafort was known for having worked as a top consultant to former Ukrainian president and pro-Russia strongman Viktor Yanukovych, and is widely credited with helping him win the election in 2010.
As part of his investigation, Mueller also subpoenaed Mercury Public Affairs, a lobbying firm that Manafort was associated with, in late August.
Mueller's team reportedly asked Mercury about public relations work it had conducted for the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine at Manafort's request.
The organization's stated goal is to foster closer ties between Ukraine and the European Union, as well as the United States. It was founded, however, by Leonid Kozhara, a senior member of parliament for the Party of Regions.
Mercury worked with Podesta Group — the now defunct lobbying firm led by John Podesta's brother, Anthony Podesta, who is also a subject of Mueller's investigation — on the Ukraine lobbying project, and the firms did not register as foreign agents at the time, saying they were working for a nonprofit and not a foreign government or political party, The Post reported.
Both firms recently registered retroactively, however, acknowledging that the Party of Regions benefited from their work.
When Manafort first joined the Trump campaign in March 2016, he was brought on to manage delegate operations. He was promoted to campaign chairman and chief strategist two months later.
Manafort resigned from the campaign in August, three days after The New York Times reported that the Party of Regions had earmarked $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments for his work consulting for the party between 2007 and 2012.
Manafort has been associated with at least 15 bank accounts and 10 companies in Cyprus, dating back to 2007, NBC News reported in March, and the FBI has issued grand-jury subpoenas to several banks for Manafort's records. Gates' name appears on documents linked to many of those Cyprus companies, according to The New York Times.
BuzzFeed also reported in October that the FBI was looking at 13 suspicious wire transfers made by Manafort-linked offshore companies from 2012 to 2013.
This is a developing story...
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