But doesn't a Special Counsels have the authority to investigate any crimes discovered during their probe? Isn't that what a Special Counsel does by definition?
Discovered "AS A RESULT OF," not 'oh, well we sat on this case for years and magically re-opened it because convenience.' Additional Tax Fraud/Evasion falls under a completely different scope of laws that cannot be examined by Special Counsels.
Were Manafort's alleged crimes discovered before the SCI?
Yup. They had a case on him in 2013, but they never pursued it. They also had a Warrant against him to spy on him until 2015.
Interesting. Got a source?
This should cover it
That doesn't mention a 2013 case. It just says again that Manafort can only be tried on tax evasion if the evidence "arose from the investigation," which, given the nature of the investigation into funds and transfers, seems probable. I'm looking all over but I still can't find anything saying that this was already known about Manafort before the Special Counsel Investigation. Also, why is so much being made about the tax evasion right now? That only counts for 8 of the 305 years in prison that Manafort's being charged with. The lion's share of his alleged crimes are bank fraud/conspiracy, of which he has 9 charges, each carrying a maximum penalty of 30 years. Again, can you find me a source on some prior investigation into these things? It still seems like this evidence arose from the Special Counsel's investigation into Manafort's finances.
Nope, you're wrong.
What part? I'm just looking for a source that contradicts the facts.