Roger Stone associate held in contempt

Action challenges Robert Mueller’s appointment as special counsel

WASHINGTON — An associate of former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone was held in contempt of court Friday in a fresh attempt to challenge Robert Mueller’s appointment as the special counsel investigating Trump campaign contacts with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign.

The move also spotlighted a growing focus by Mueller on Stone. Another of Stone’s associates, a New Yorker known as the “Manhattan Madam” because she once operated an upscale escort service, was expected to make her first appearance before a grand jury in the case.

Paul Kamenar, the attorney for Stone associate Andrew Miller, whose refusal to appear before the grand jury Friday led him to be held in contempt, argued after the proceedings that Mueller’s appointment is unconstitutional. He asserted that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein did not have the authority to appoint Mueller.

Previous challenges to Mueller’s legitimacy have failed.

Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel last year after Attorney General Jeff Sessions stepped aside from the Russia investigation.

The same grand jury that Miller refused to appear before on Friday also was expected to hear from Kristin Davis, a longtime friend and associate of Stone. Davis spent several months in a New York City jail for running the escort service.

Miller’s decision to allow himself to be held in contempt is the latest challenge to Mueller’s authority as special counsel.

Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, tried three separate times in federal court to have a judge rule that Mueller lacked the authority to prosecute him. Manafort, who is on currently on trial in federal court in Virginia for alleged financial crimes, lost each time.