John Dowd, a lawyer for President Donald Trump, has accused Special Counsel Robert Mueller of “gross abuse” in regards to an early morning raid at the home of Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign chairman, last month.
“These methods are normally found and employed in Russia not America,” – in an email to Wall Street Journal.
In the email he also questioned the validity of the search warrant, saying it was an “extraordinary invasion of privacy.” He further stated that Manafort was already looking to fully cooperate with the congressional committees on the matter and that Mueller never requested materials from him.
As reported by The Daily Caller:
Dowd’s comments are a notable shift from his praise for Mueller earlier this week. Dowd told USA Today on Tuesday that he has sent messages of “appreciation” on behalf of Trump to Mueller, a former FBI director leading the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government.
“We get along well with Bob Mueller; our communications have been constructive,” Dowd told USA Today. “But it is important that our communications remain confidential. It’s important that there not be any breakdown in that trust.”
But Dowd’s view of Mueller appears to have shifted dramatically after The Washington Post broke the story that FBI agents conducted a “no knock” raid of Manafort’s Alexandria, Va. home on July 26, a day after the former Trump campaign chairman met with the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The New York Times reported that agents seized banking and financial records regarding Manafort’s consulting work for foreign governments. The raid shows that Mueller is looking into other possible criminal activity besides campaign collusion with the Russian government.
The raid has also stoked speculation that Mueller hopes to build a case against Manafort in hopes of getting him to flip on Trump.
According to Fox News, Dowd called the raid “a gross abuse of the judicial process,” while questioning the legality of Mueller’s search warrant.