- Apr 1, 2011
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It's over, turd:
Mueller’s Concord Mismanagement Is Convulsing
Playing his own Russian card left him vulnerable to “graymail” that’s turning into his undoing.
On February 16, 2018, Special Counsel Robert Mueller obtained a federal indictment of 13 Russian nationals and 3 Russian companies for conspiring to wage “information warfare” by “impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful functions of the United States by dishonest means in order to enable Defendants to interfere with U.S. political processes, including the 2016 presidential election.”
The media heralded the indictment as a major achievement by Team Mueller. But a few observers questioned whether Mueller truly expected any of the defendants to appear in a U.S. court to answer the charges. Others asked if the indictment was merely an empty public relations gesture by the special counsel’s office attempting to show that its investigation was producing solid results.
Against all expectations, in April 2018, lawyers for one of the Russian corporate defendants, Concord Management and Consulting, LLC (“Concord”), entered their appearances in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. They then served extensive discovery requests on Team Mueller seeking full disclosure of the government’s case and investigation including sensitive national security and intelligence information.
This type of discovery is called “graymail,” in which the government must disclose closely guarded state secrets in order to proceed with the prosecution. The alternative is to drop the charges.
So, should Team Mueller bother to litigate the discovery requests? The maximum penalty against Concord is a $500,000 fine or compensation to anyone damaged by the alleged conspiracy. But these may be mere theoretical penalties since there appears to be no way for the government to levy Concord’s assets in Russia. In short, even if the prosecution wins at trial, no one will go to prison and the fines may be uncollectible. So what’s the point of the exercise?
If the Muellerites lose the discovery litigation and are faced with having to disclose sensitive intelligence about the case and their investigation, should they withdraw the indictment against Concord? And, if they drop the charges, are they prepared for the resulting public relations disaster?
Bottom line: how did such a purportedly smart bunch of lawyers get themselves into this fix?
Playing his own Russian card left him vulnerable to “graymail” that’s turning into his undoing.
On February 16, 2018, Special Counsel Robert Mueller obtained a federal indictment of 13 Russian nationals and 3 Russian companies for conspiring to wage “information warfare” by “impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful functions of the United States by dishonest means in order to enable Defendants to interfere with U.S. political processes, including the 2016 presidential election.”
The media heralded the indictment as a major achievement by Team Mueller. But a few observers questioned whether Mueller truly expected any of the defendants to appear in a U.S. court to answer the charges. Others asked if the indictment was merely an empty public relations gesture by the special counsel’s office attempting to show that its investigation was producing solid results.
Against all expectations, in April 2018, lawyers for one of the Russian corporate defendants, Concord Management and Consulting, LLC (“Concord”), entered their appearances in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. They then served extensive discovery requests on Team Mueller seeking full disclosure of the government’s case and investigation including sensitive national security and intelligence information.
This type of discovery is called “graymail,” in which the government must disclose closely guarded state secrets in order to proceed with the prosecution. The alternative is to drop the charges.
So, should Team Mueller bother to litigate the discovery requests? The maximum penalty against Concord is a $500,000 fine or compensation to anyone damaged by the alleged conspiracy. But these may be mere theoretical penalties since there appears to be no way for the government to levy Concord’s assets in Russia. In short, even if the prosecution wins at trial, no one will go to prison and the fines may be uncollectible. So what’s the point of the exercise?
If the Muellerites lose the discovery litigation and are faced with having to disclose sensitive intelligence about the case and their investigation, should they withdraw the indictment against Concord? And, if they drop the charges, are they prepared for the resulting public relations disaster?
Bottom line: how did such a purportedly smart bunch of lawyers get themselves into this fix?
