Mueller Opposes Russian Firm's Bid for Grand Jury Record Review

(Bloomberg) -- Prosecutors for Special Counsel Robert Mueller argued Friday for a denial of a Russian firm’s request that a judge review legal instructions given to a secret grand jury before the firm was accused of interfering in the 2016 election.

The firm, Concord Management and Consulting LLC, was among three companies and 13 Russian nationals charged in a February indictment with producing propaganda, posing as U.S. activists and posting political content on social media as so-called trolls to encourage strife in the U.S.

Concord’s lawyers asked a federal judge in Washington to conduct a closed-door review of the instructions given to the panel to determine whether prosecutors properly showed that the company intended to defraud the U.S.

Prosecutors for Mueller argued in a court filing that Concord failed to show why the judge should review the instructions, and that the company misapplied the law as it relates to intent.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Voreacos in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, at dvoreacos@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeffrey D Grocott at jgrocott2@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.