United States v. Manafort

321 F. Supp. 3d 640
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedJune 26, 2018
DocketCriminal Action No. 1:18–cr–83
StatusPublished

This text of 321 F. Supp. 3d 640 (United States v. Manafort) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Manafort, 321 F. Supp. 3d 640 (E.D. Va. 2018).

Opinion

C.

The facts surrounding the appointment of the Special Counsel in this case are widely known, but bear repetition in some detail here. On March 20, 2017, then-Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") Director James Comey disclosed that the FBI was in the process of investigating Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election and any potential links or coordination between the Russian government and President Trump's campaign organization. See Statement of FBI Director James B. Comey, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Hearing on Russian Active Measures Investigation (Mar. 20, 2017), https://www.fbi.gov/news. Shortly thereafter, on May 17, 2017, Acting Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein (Rosenstein)13 appointed Robert S. Mueller, III (Mueller) as Special Counsel pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 509, 510, and 515 and authorized Mueller to "conduct the investigation confirmed by then-FBI Director James B. Comey in testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on March 20, 2017," including as stated in ¶ (b):

(i) any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump; and
(ii) any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation; and
(iii) any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a).

Dep't of Justice, Office of Deputy Attorney General, Order No. 3915-2017, Appointment of Special Counsel To Investigate Russian Interference with the 2016 Presidential Election and Related Matters , ¶ (b) (May 17, 2017) (May 17 Appointment Order). The May 17 Appointment Order further authorized the Special Counsel "to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation of these matters" should the Special Counsel believe prosecution necessary and appropriate, and subject to the applicable regulations. Id. ¶ (c). Finally, the Acting Attorney General made "[s]ections 600.4 through 600.10 of Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations [ ] applicable to the Special Counsel" in this matter. Id. ¶ (d). In sum, ¶ (b), including ¶¶ (b)(i), (b)(ii), and (b)(iii), defines the scope of the Special Counsel's investigatory authority, ¶ (c) grants the Special Counsel authority to prosecute federal crimes "arising" from his investigation, and ¶ (d) subjects the Special Counsel to the applicable internal DOJ regulations.

Subsequently, on August 2, 2017, the Acting Attorney General issued a non-public memorandum concerning "[t]he Scope of Investigation and Definition of Authority" conferred on the Special Counsel. Memorandum from Rod Rosenstein to Robert S. Mueller, III 1 (Aug. 2, 2017) (August 2 Scope Memorandum).14 The August *6492 Scope Memorandum made clear that the May 17 Appointment Order "was worded categorically in order to permit its public release" and that the August 2 Scope Memorandum "provide[d] a more specific description" of the Special Counsel's authority. Id. With respect to the defendant, the August 2 Scope Memorandum identified several allegations, including allegations that the defendant:

[c]ommitted a crime or crimes by colluding with Russian government officials with respect to the Russian government's efforts to interfere with the 2016 election for President of the United States, in violation of United States law;
[c]ommitted a crime or crimes arising out of payments he received from the Ukrainian government before and during the tenure of President Viktor Yanukovych[.] Id. at 2.

The August 2 Scope Memorandum noted that these allegations against the defendant "were within the scope of [the Special Counsel's] investigation at the time of [his] appointment and are within the scope of the [Appointment] Order." Id. at 1.

Several months later, on February 22, 2018, the Special Counsel charged defendant15 with, and a grand jury indicted defendant on (i) five counts of subscribing to false income tax returns, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1) (Counts 1-5); (ii) four counts of failing to file reports of foreign bank accounts, in violation of 31 U.S.C. §§ 5314, 5322(a) (Counts 11-14); and (iii) nine counts bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1344, 1349 (Counts 24-32).16 Specifically, the Superseding Indictment17 alleges that defendant received millions of dollars in payments from his political consulting and lobbying work on behalf of Ukraine, the pro-Russia political party in Ukraine, and then-President Yanukovych and that defendant fraudulently hid those funds from U.S. authorities.

Defendant has now subsequently moved to dismiss the Superseding Indictment. The questions presented in defendant's motion, and addressed in this memorandum opinion are as follows:

(1) whether ¶ (b)(i) of the May 17 Appointment Order is a valid grant of jurisdiction pursuant to the Special Counsel *650regulations and whether the Special Counsel's investigation falls within that grant of jurisdiction;
(2) whether ¶ (b)(ii) of the May 17 Appointment Order is a valid grant of jurisdiction pursuant to the Special Counsel regulations and whether the Special Counsel's investigation falls within that grant of jurisdiction; and

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
321 F. Supp. 3d 640, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-manafort-vaed-2018.