Special counsel Robert Mueller revealed the appointment of Matt Whitaker as acting attorney general “has no effect” on the fight to subpoena Andrew Miller, an associate of longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone.
“Acting Attorney General Whitaker’s designation neither alters the Special Counsel’s authority to represent the United States nor raises any jurisdictional issue. The Special Counsel continues to exercise the same authority, and the jurisdiction of the district court and this Court is intact,” prosecutors wrote in a brief filed Monday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
In May, Miller defied a subpoena to appear before a grand jury and was held in civil contempt. Miller and his lawyers filed a lawsuit alleging that Mueller was unconstitutionally appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and has wielded too much power.
Earlier this month, the federal appeals court asked each party in the case to file briefs outlining if the sudden departure of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions could impact or change the outcome of how it may rule.
The order came a day after the three-judge panel heard oral arguments on whether Mueller was unlawfully appointed by Rosenstein in May 2017. Rosenstein appointed Mueller after Sessions recused himself from the federal government’s Russia investigation.
Rosenstein relinquished oversight of Mueller’s investigation when President Trump, on Nov. 7, forced Sessions to resign and appointed Whitaker.
In the Monday brief, prosecutors asserted that Mueller still has the authority of a U.S. attorney, writing that the special counsel “has and continues to ‘exercise, within the scope of his or her jurisdiction, the full power and independent authority to exercise all investigative and prosecutorial functions of any United States Attorney.’”
Last week, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel released an opinion defending the appointment of Whitaker as valid and constitutional. “If Miller were to show otherwise, it would appear to place [Rosenstein] back in the role of Acting Attorney General,” prosecutors argued.
In recent months, several of Stone’s associates have been subpoenaed by a grand jury as part of Mueller’s wide-ranging investigation into Russian election interference and whether Trump’s campaign colluded with the Kremlin. Mueller’s team wants to know if Stone communicated with the Trump campaign about WikiLeaks.
Stone has repeatedly claimed that he had established a backchannel with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. That backchannel to Assange was left-wing comedian Randy Credico, Stone has said, and attempted to prove in recently released text messages.
Six days before WikiLeaks began releasing emails from Clinton campaign manager John Podesta, Stone texted with Credico about WikiLeaks.
Credico, who has denied being the link between the two, has a meeting scheduled with Mueller’s team after Thanksgiving, the Daily Beast reported Saturday. He has reportedly met with the special counsel’s team “a number of times.”
