Paul Manafort’s attorneys filed the civil suit in Januar y , claiming that Mueller was exceeding his authorized mandate and that aspects of his marching orders violated Justice Department regulations governing appointment of special counsels. | Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo Manafort drops appeal in suit challenging Mueller's authority

Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman, has dropped his appeal of the dismissal of a civil lawsuit he brought last year in a bid to halt special counsel Robert Mueller’s further investigation of him.

Lawyers for Manafort and Mueller on Monday afternoon filed a joint notice with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals withdrawing the appeal, one day before jury selection is set to begin in Alexandria, Virginia, in a tax evasion and bank fraud case that the special counsel's office brought against the veteran political consultant and lobbyist.


A spokesman for Manafort had no immediate comment on why the appeal was abandoned. A spokesman for Mueller declined to comment.

Manafort’s attorneys filed the civil suit in January , claiming that Mueller was exceeding his authorized mandate and that aspects of his marching orders violated Justice Department regulations governing appointment of special counsels.

The suit initially requested the dismissal of an indictment Mueller obtained against Manafort in Washington last year, charging him with acting as an unregistered foreign agent and with money laundering. Manafort’s lawyers eventually narrowed their demands to an order precluding additional investigation of him by Mueller.

However, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson dismissed the case in April, saying the prospect of further charges against Manafort was too remote to justify any action against Mueller.

“It does not appear that he has identified any harm that is actual or imminent, and not hypothetical,” the judge wrote. “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.”

Manafort appealed that ruling to the D.C. Circuit. The civil suit had the potential at one point to get issues related to Mueller’s authority before the appeals court faster than the two criminal cases, but judges in both those cases have rejected motions questioning aspects of Mueller’s appointment and the scope of his work.

Even if Manafort continued to pursue the appeal, any ruling looked to be months off, well after the Alexandria trial set to open Tuesday and the D.C. one scheduled for Sept. 17.

If Manafort is convicted in either case, he will be able to pursue his challenges to Mueller’s jurisdiction in appeals of those convictions. If he’s acquitted or pardoned on all charges, the issue will be moot for him.

Further court action on questions of Mueller’s authority is all but certain regardless, since Andrew Miller, a former aide to Trump adviser Roger Stone, is using those questions to challenge a grand jury subpoena he received. That issue is currently before another federal judge in Washington and could result in a fairly quick appeal to the D.C. Circuit or even the Supreme Court.



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