JUDGE WED TO MUELLER TEAM MEMBER STEPS AWAY FROM TRUMP SUITS

Source: Associated Press

Aug 2, 4:37 PM EDT
BY ERIC TUCKER
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge who is married to a new member of Robert Mueller's investigative team has stepped aside from lawsuits involving President Donald Trump and his business empire, court records show.

Greg Andres, a New York lawyer and former Justice Department prosecutor who specialized in foreign bribery and fraud, has joined the team of lawyers investigating potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, a spokesman for the group said Wednesday.

Andres is married to Ronnie Abrams, a federal judge in Manhattan, who presided over lawsuits that accused Trump of violating the Constitution's emoluments clause by letting his businesses accept money from foreign governments. One of the cases was brought by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a legal nonprofit group that advocates for good government, and another was brought by New York attorney William Weinstein.

Court entries from last month show that cases have been reassigned to another judge, George Daniels. No reason was given and a call to Abrams' chambers was referred to a spokesman for the court, who confirmed that Abrams had recused herself from the CREW matter under a section of the U.S. code that deals with judicial procedure.

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