Ex-Trump campaign chairman asks judge to dismiss charges

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In their motion to dismiss, the defence lawyers say Mueller has improperly surpassed his authority including that granted to him to investigate any crimes arising from his inquiry.

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“The original and superseding indictments do not focus in the slightest on alleged co-ordination between the Russian government and the Trump campaign during the 2016 election, or even Mr. Manafort’s brief involvement in the campaign,” the attorneys write.

Instead, the lawyers say, the indictments are focused on foreign consulting work that ended in 2014 and on years-old bank accounts and tax filings that have no connection to either the Trump campaign or the Russian government.

Lawyers for the Justice Department, which represents Mueller’s office in the civil suit, have argued that Mueller is well within his authority. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing Mueller’s investigation, has also expressed support for Mueller’s investigation, saying it is being carried out properly.

In a separate motion filed Wednesday, Manafort also asks U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson to dismiss one of two charges against him, saying they accuse him of the same crime of making false statements on forms he filed with the Justice Department’s Foreign Agents Registration Act unit. Manafort’s attorneys argue that allowing both charges to go forward would violate his Fifth Amendment protection from double jeopardy.

In another motion, Manafort’s team is also challenging a money-laundering conspiracy charge against him, saying the millions he routed through offshore accounts was legitimate income from his foreign consulting that shouldn’t be considered tainted by the allegations that he was acting as an unregistered foreign agent in the U.S.

The motions are the latest move by Manafort’s lawyers since his co-defendant and longtime business associate, Rick Gates, pleaded guilty and agreed to co-operate with prosecutors.

Manafort also faces a separate indictment in Virginia that accuses him of several counts of tax evasion and bank fraud. Both cases carry the potential for heavy prison sentences.

In a recent order confining Manafort to his home, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, who presides in the Virginia case, noted that Manafort posed a significant flight risk because of his wealth and the fact that he “faces the very real possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.”

Eric Tucker And Chad Day, The Associated Press