PhotoWASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit filed by Paul Manafort, the former campaign chairman for President Trump, that tried to narrow the authority of the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. The judge said that Mr. Manafort’s suit, which argued that the special counsel had exceeded his authorities by investigating Mr. Manafort’s past business dealings in Ukraine, was “not the appropriate vehicle for taking issue with what a prosecutor has done in the past or where he might be headed in the future.”The ruling by the judge, Amy Berman Jackson, is a blow to a central part of Mr. Manafort’s defense strategy. Court documents say that Mr. Manafort used millions of dollars he received for the work to fund a lavish lifestyle filled with expensive homes, cars and designer suits. Advertisement Continue reading the main storyMr. Manafort has pleaded not guilty. Mr. Mueller has made public no evidence that Mr. Manafort coordinated with Russia’s attempts in 2016 to influence the American election.

Source: New York Times April 27, 2018 20:19 UTC