‘Putin’s Chef’ Lawyer Strikes Back at Judge After Being Scolded
‘Putin’s Chef’ Lawyer Strikes Back at Judge After Being Scolded
(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. lawyer for Russians accused of interfering in the 2016 presidential election doubled down in his criticism of the judge who called his tactics “unprofessional,” claiming her comments incited hate mail and threats in a filing that seemed intent on further provoking her.
"When the word ‘judge’ appears before a person’s name, this political adornment suggests to the public that there now is some higher level of wisdom than among the mere mortal lawyers in the case, and as such, every single mainstream media organization repeated the court’s words as gospel," Eric Dubelier wrote in a filing Tuesday. "The direct consequence was swift and clear."
Dubelier is defending Concord Management and Consulting LLC, a company run by Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who’s sometimes referred to as "Putin’s chef" because Vladimir Putin had hosted dinners in his restaurants. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has accused the firm of financing efforts to inflame American political tensions before the 2016 presidential election through social media.
In court Monday, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich reprimanded Dubelier for his rhetoric -- a filing last week quoted the movie Animal House to criticize Mueller’s team -- telling him to "knock it off!"
Then as Dubelier refused to go forward with the sealed part of Monday’s proceeding, Friedrich said to let her know when he’d be available.
"Undersigned counsel are available at the court’s convenience," he wrote Tuesday.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Harris in Washington at aharris16@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider, Heather Smith
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