Paul Manafort isn't one to be indicted without a fight.
After Special Counsel Robert Mueller charged Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman, with conspiracy against the U.S., Manafort sued the Department of Justice, claiming the charges went beyond Mueller's authority. The special counsel took 53 pages to respond to Manafort's claims, but he needed just a footnote to really drive the message home.
Throughout the document, Mueller's team spells out over and over why it had the authority to investigate and charge Manafort, The Washington Post reported. Attached to one of those defenses was a footnote:
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The Special Counsel also has "the authority to investigate and prosecute federal crimes committed in the course of, and with intent to interfere with, the Special Counsel's investigation, such as perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and intimidation of witnesses" ... Those authorities are not at issue here.
That note uses language from a redacted memo that spelled out Mueller's authority in completing the investigation. The Post's analysis suggests that beyond the sass, the footnote could be a warning to President Trump — a promise that Mueller will finish this investigation no matter who gets in the way.
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