Mueller report: Everything we know about the mystery foreign company under scrutiny

Judge says unidentified firm is linked to 'foreign interference in the 2016 presidential election and potential collusion in those efforts by American citizens'

Special Counsel Robert Mueller may have concluded his report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, but the grand jury behind a slate of indictments is seemingly still alive and well as a mystery foreign company battles a subpoena stemming from the federal investigation.

A US District Court judge in Washington allowed the unnamed company to remain private on Monday as it fights against a document request made in the subpoena.

That followed the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear a bid last month by the unidentified company to contest the grand jury subpoena, though the justices stopped short of forcing the firm to comply with the demands.

A federal judge previously imposed a daily fine of $50,000 (£38,080) against the company, which had asked the justices to hear its appeal after it was held in contempt for refusing to fulfil the demands in the subpoena.

Chief Judge Beryl Howell wrote in court filings the company is linked to “foreign interference in the 2016 presidential election and potential collusion in those efforts by American citizens.”

The case has remained a high-profile mystery, with the Supreme Court and lower courts declining to identify the company, the country that owns it or the specific purpose of the subpoena. The company, which has a US office, has said it was a witness, not a suspect, in the special counsel’s investigation.

Court papers detailing its legal arguments were made public but all information about specific facts of the dispute were redacted. The subpoena was issued last July.

The Supreme Court in January refused to put the lower court ruling on hold. According to court filings, the daily fine imposed by US District Court Judge Beryl Howell started accruing on 15 January. Such fines accrue until the grand jury is no longer sitting.

The legal question was whether the company is protected under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, a law that allows foreign countries to avoid lawsuits in US courts. The law does not cover commercial activities. The company argued that this law protects it not just in civil cases but also in criminal cases. The company also argued that foreign governments are immune from contempt findings in US courts.

The confirmation of the grand jury’s continuing activity came during a bid by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press to win the release of records involving the unidentified company.

The Justice Department is planning to release a public version of Mr Mueller’s report in the coming weeks after Attorney General William Barr — an appointee of Donald Trump — removes any secret grand jury material and information about ongoing criminal matters that were referred to other prosecutors, including the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Ongoing criminal cases brought by the special counsel’s office including the scheduled November trial of Mr Trump’s longtime political adviser Roger Stone also are being handed off to prosecutors in the US Attorney’s Office for Washington.

Additional reporting by Reuters