Superseding indictment
February 22, 2018 7:01 PM Subscribe
Do the superseding indictments in the Mueller investigation add to or replace the original indictment?
This article says the new indictments against Manafort and Gates are in addition to the previous indictments, with the earlier charges still being lodged against them:
This article, however, says that the earlier charges have been replaced:
Which is it?
This article says the new indictments against Manafort and Gates are in addition to the previous indictments, with the earlier charges still being lodged against them:
This article, however, says that the earlier charges have been replaced:
Which is it?
Once the superseding indictment has been issued, it is the operative document in the case, the old one has no effect. Here, it looks like the focus of the indictment has changed somewhat, as the second article notes. If they left out a charge from the original, that charge would effectively be dropped from the case. The prosecution generally has a lot of latitude about issuing superseding indictments as it seems fit, at least in the pre-trial phase.
posted by skewed at 10:30 PM on February 22, 2018
posted by skewed at 10:30 PM on February 22, 2018
IANAL, etc. NRO is incorrect and Mueller's spokesperson confirmed so this evening. There are two separate cases and they'll proceed in parallel.
The new indictments are superseding indictments in a different jurisdiction (eastern district of Virginia) on a separate docket to the ones filed in the DC district. This means that initial indictments were filed under seal in EDVA (probably early last week based on the docket number, according to Lawyer Twitter) and superseded by the indictment made public today. The DC judge received a status report today of what happened in EDVA. The EDVA case will need its own judge.
The tl;dr explanation: Mueller's team decided that while the FARA charges could appropriately be prosecuted in the DC circuit, they couldn't do that with the tax and bank fraud charges, so they went through EDVA where Manafort and Gates have addresses. Gates was willing to "waive venue" and let the prosecution consolidate the EDVA indictments in DC, but Manafort chose not to, which is his right.
posted by holgate at 10:38 PM on February 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
The new indictments are superseding indictments in a different jurisdiction (eastern district of Virginia) on a separate docket to the ones filed in the DC district. This means that initial indictments were filed under seal in EDVA (probably early last week based on the docket number, according to Lawyer Twitter) and superseded by the indictment made public today. The DC judge received a status report today of what happened in EDVA. The EDVA case will need its own judge.
The tl;dr explanation: Mueller's team decided that while the FARA charges could appropriately be prosecuted in the DC circuit, they couldn't do that with the tax and bank fraud charges, so they went through EDVA where Manafort and Gates have addresses. Gates was willing to "waive venue" and let the prosecution consolidate the EDVA indictments in DC, but Manafort chose not to, which is his right.
posted by holgate at 10:38 PM on February 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
Ah my answer is wrong, It would only apply when a superseding indictment is issued in the same case, which is much more common. Didn’t realize that new charges were filed in a different district.
posted by skewed at 11:48 PM on February 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by skewed at 11:48 PM on February 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
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posted by ptm at 9:18 PM on February 22, 2018