Bumbling Mueller prosecutors rebuked repeatedly by trial judge with history of colorful rulings

I think this case is a colossal waste of taxpayer money considering that the case has nothing to do with Donald Trump or colluding with the Russians.
  So why is this trial taking place? 

Fox News reports the federal judge presiding over the fraud trial of ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort rebuked Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team repeatedly on Tuesday, highlighting potential vulnerabilities in the first prosecution arising out of Mueller's ongoing Russia probe.

The 78-year-old Reagan-appointed judge, T.S. Ellis, sent jurors out of the courtroom several times as he reminded prosecutors that Manafort is not on trial for simply having a "lavish lifestyle."

Prosecutors have introduced a bevy of exhibits and are in the process of calling several witnesses as part of their effort to paint Manafort as a tax scofflaw who failed to report money spent on luxury items --  then lied to obtain bank loans when his foreign consulting work dried up.

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