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WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the appointment of Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating the Trump campaign and Russia, and ruled that to help Roger J. Stone Jr., the longtime trump adviser who was indicted last month, must testify before a grand jury.
In a unanimous ruling, a three-judge panel on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Mr. Miller's assistance, Andrew Miller, who has been resisting a subpoena since last summer . After a Federal District Court Judge Held in Contempt of Court, He Appealed.
But in a 16-page opinion, Judge Judith W. Rogers upheld Mr. Mueller's authority, holding that "Miller's challenge to the appointment of the Special Counsel fails. Accordingly, we affirm the order finding Miller in civil contempt. "
Judge Rogers, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, Karen Henderson and Sri Srinivasan, presidents of George Bush and Barack Obama, respectively.
Paul D. Kamenar, an attorney for Mr. Miller, said they would probably appeal to the Supreme Court.
"We are disappointed with the decision of the Supreme Court," he said in a phone interview.
Essentially, Mr. Miller's legal team had argued that Mr. Mueller had the power to qualify for an "inferior officer" under the Constitution. Mr. Mueller was appointed deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, named him as special counsel in May 2017. If Mr. Mueller was improperly appointed, they said, the subpoena was invalid.
Michael R. Dreeben, one of the lawyers working for Mr. Mueller, argued that "Mr. Mueller was not a free-floating environment," but rather was subject to the supervision and control of the attorney general. As a result, he maintained, there was no need for Mr. Mueller to be confirmed by the Senate. The appeals court agreed.
Mr. Miller's attempt to challenge Mr. Mueller's leadership was brought forward by Paul Manafort, President Trump's former chairman, who was prosecuted by Mr. Mueller's office. Mr. Manafort's gambit also failed, and he was convicted after a trial on the bankruptcy and fraud charges in the Eastern District of Virginia and then pleaded guilty to separate conspiracy charges in the District of Columbia.
Miller's subpoena case comes amidst The last round of rumors that Mr. Mueller may be close to issuing some kind of report to the new attorney general, William P. Barr, who could point out that the special counsels are to regular Justice Department prosecutors.
It also comes after the indictment of Mr. Stone last month on charges of lying to investigators, obstruction and witness tampering – raising the question of whether or not prosecutors still need Mr. Miller's testimony a superseding indictment or for his eventual trial.
Mr. Whitaker in charge of Mr. Miller's appeal in Mr. Trump, then the Attorney General Jeff Sessions and installed a loyalist, Matthew G. Whitaker, the acting attorney general Mr. Mueller. In the interim, Mr. Whitaker has since been replaced with the confirmation of Mr. Barr.
Mr. Kamenar noted the length of the delay between the arguments and the ruling Mr. Miller's case, contrasting it with a separate dispute over another subpoena issued by Mr. Mueller's office to an unidentified foreign corporation that is owned by a foreign government. In that other dispute, the appeals court panel rejected the challenge far more swiftly.
"The fact that the court took over and decided to take a decision on this issue. that it is a serious and substantial challenge, "he said.
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