Mueller puts politics above the law
By Jonathan Turley, opinion contributor — 05/06/18 10:00 AM EDT
Donald Trump finally found a federal judge to whom he could relate. Judge T.S. Ellis III on Friday blasted prosecutors from special counsel Robert Mueller’s office as using their case against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort to get at the president for either an indictment or an impeachment. Trump declared Ellis to be “really something very special†in showing that this is nothing more than a “witch hunt.â€
While reluctant to say so publicly, many lawyers would find Ellis’s comments “special†in the sense of being especially problematic from a federal judge. There is a legitimate concern in how Mueller has treated different cases, but the judge seemed to focus more on the special counsel’s motivation than on his mandate.
In the hearing in Virginia, Ellis cut off the prosecution by declaring, “Come on man!†and “You don’t really care about Mr. Manafort. You really care about what information Mr. Manafort can give you to lead you to Mr. Trump and an impeachment, or whatever.†There are times when a judge legitimately can raise the motivations of prosecutors in addressing cases of possible prosecutorial abuse or selective prosecution. However, Manafort is accused of a myriad of fraud and other crimes. Even if he is viewed as a means to another end, it would not change the basis for the charges that he faces.
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http://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/386409-mueller-puts-politics-above-the-law
