May 4, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis in the Eastern District of Virginia’s statement on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment of one-time Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, “I don’t see what relationship this indictment has with anything the special counsel is authorized to investigate”:

“It has been clear from the onset of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation that it has gone beyond its original mandate to investigate Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election. One-time Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was charged with activities predating the election, not to do with Russia, but related to Ukraine and lobbying. The federal judge overseeing the Manafort case is absolutely right. Particularly, since the charges originate from an investigation that predated the appointment of Mueller, clearly they did not arise in the course of Mueller’s investigation. There’s no reason another U.S. Attorney could not have been assigned to this case.

“Similarly, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was charged with activities alleged to have occurred after the election, related not to the campaign or Russian interference, but a conversation he had with the Russian ambassador in 2016 to do with sanctions and specifically, his recollection of the legal conversation in Jan. 2017.

“Judge Ellis was right when he shockingly said, ‘You don’t really care about Mr. Manafort,’ he continued, ‘You really care about what information Mr. Manafort can give you to lead you to Mr. Trump and an impeachment, or whatever.’

“Everyone outside the Department of Justice seems to be able to see that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s only objective is to create grounds for the Democrats to impeach the president. That isn’t his job; his job is to investigate Russian collusion if there was Russian collusion in the election. The Manafort case clearly demonstrates the special counsel is well beyond his legal mandate, and Judge Ellis should throw the charges out immediately on this basis.”

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