Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano criticized U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III on Wednesday for his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller’s case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
“I’m not happy with this judge,” Napolitano told Fox News’ Dana Perino. “He’s making too much of the case about him and he’s showing an extraordinary bias against the government. If you feel that negatively about the government, you shouldn’t be on the case, or you have to keep those feelings to yourself not manifest them.”
“You and I were talking during the break, the jury can’t be happy with this judge because of the snide, snarky comments,” he added to Perino.
Ellis, known for his courtroom humor and occasional scolding of lawyers, has set strict boundaries on Manafort’s trial. He banned the word “oligarch” from the courtroom for being “pejorative” and complained last week about prosecutors’ attempts to put Manafort on trial “for having a lavish lifestyle.”
“If it doesn’t say Men’s Warehouse, then I don’t know it,” Ellis said after learning the pronunciation of the “House of Bijan,” where Manafort bought some particularly high-end goods.
“I understand how frustrated you are,” he told a prosecutor Monday. “In fact, there’s tears in your eyes right now.”
Watch below:
Napolitano: Judge in Manafort case is showing "extraordinary bias against the government." pic.twitter.com/7sIjBKyPmC
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) August 8, 2018
