Paul Manafort’s attorneys had initially asked the judge to throw out all charges against him, arguing that special counsel Robert Mueller had exceeded his authority by bringing charges unrelated to Russian election interference. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo Judge tosses Manafort civil suit challenging special counsel The court has yet to rule on the ex-Trump official's parallel bid to dismiss criminal charges.

A federal judge in Washington has thrown out a civil lawsuit President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, filed challenging the authority of special counsel Robert Mueller.

Mueller is pursuing criminal cases against Manafort in two different federal courts and Manafort’s suit initially asked that all all the charges in at least one of those cases be thrown out. However, the veteran political consultant and former Trump campaign official later dropped that part of his suit and appeared to focus on blocking any further investigation or prosecution by Mueller.


U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman ruled Friday that Manafort's request for an injunction against additional charges from Mueller should be denied, in part because it was too speculative.

"The fact that Manafort has narrowed his approach to only focus on future investigative steps by the Special Counsel does not cure the problem with his civil complaint," Jackson wrote, suggesting indications are that potential new charges against Manafort are too remote.

"It does not appear that he has identified any harm that is actual or imminent, and not hypothetical," the judge wrote in her 24-page opinion. "Since it is not clear at this point what actions, if any, the Special Counsel will take with respect to Manafort, and whether those future actions will be subject to attack for the same reasons set forth in the complaint, prudential considerations weigh against hearing an action to prohibit them now."

Jackson noted that Manafort has also filed a similar motion in the criminal case she is overseeing, arguing that the order Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein issued last May appointing Mueller was overbroad and that Mueller has exceeded even that capacious mandate.

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"Because Manafort is currently a defendant in a pending criminal case before the Court, he has been granted the opportunity to bring a motion challenging his prosecution, and he has already exercised that right by filing a motion advancing the very concerns set forth in the instant complaint," the judge wrote. "If the Court grants Manafort's motion to dismiss the indictment in the criminal case on the grounds that the Appointment Order exceeded the Acting Attorney General's authority, Manafort will have achieved the primary objective of this lawsuit: the issuance of an order to that effect.......His concerns regarding the Special Counsel's investigation will be taken up in the criminal case."

The criminal indictment pending before Jackson in Washington charges Manafort with money laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent in connection with his work for Ukraine. Another case filed in Alexandria, Virginia, charges him with tax evasion, bank fraud and failure to report overseas bank accounts. The 69-year-old Manafort could potentially spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted in either case.

Prosecutors also indicated in a court filing earlier this month that they are investigating at least one other matter related to Manafort that is not part of the pending charges.

Last week, Jackson held a hearing on Manafort's bid to dismiss the Washington case. She said she saw some merit in at least one of the arguments put forward by Manafort's defense that Rosenstein's order appointing Mueller was more open-ended than Justice Department regulations permit. However, those rules specifically say that they can't be enforced by parties outside the government.

Jackson made no ruling at the hearing, but she seemed skeptical about allowing a criminal defendant to challenge alleged violations of Justice Department policies.

Spokespeople for Manafort and Mueller's office, respectively, had no immediate comment on the judge's decision throwing out the civil suit. Jackson has entered a gag order limiting public comments about the criminal case by those involved.