Concord Asks US Court To Hold Mueller, Barr In Contempt For Russia Report Release - Filing

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th April, 2019) Attorney General William Barr and Special Counsel Robert Mueller violated a court order by releasing prohibited information and opinions on a pending criminal trial of Concord Management, lawyers for the Russian company said in a court filing on Thursday.

"Defendant Concord Management and Consulting LLC by and through undersigned counsel, respectfully submits this motion seeking an order to show cause why Attorney General William Barr and Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III should not be held in contempt for ... releasing prohibited information and opinions regarding the guilt of the accused and the evidence in the above-captioned pending criminal case thus interfering with Concord's right to a fair trial and further prejudicing the due administration of justice," the filing stated.

Mueller indicted Concord Management and others in his final report on his investigation into allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 US election. Barr released a redacted version of the report earlier this month.

Concord has pleaded not guilty and mounted a vigorous defense ahead of an anticipated criminal trial.

Concord's defense lawyers argued in Thursday's filing that that public portions of Mueller's report and subsequent comments by Barr make connections between Concord and purported election interference at the behest of the Russian government that are not in the indictment.

"The practical effect of the broadside by AG Barr and SC Mueller on Concord was to advise the world (including potential jurors) that the allegations in the Indictment are true and that the Defendants in this case were operating as part of a Russian-government led interference campaign," the filing said. "This despite the fact that the Indictment contains no such allegation."

The Mueller report accuses the Russian government of direct involvement with Russian businessman Yevgeniy Prigozhin and companies he controlled, including Concord Management and the internet Research Agency, in election meddling.

Barr also endorsed the report's finding of Russian government involvement during a press conference just hours before a redacted version of the report was released, according to the court filing.

The Russian government has repeatedly and emphatically denied any official involvement in efforts to sway US voters, saying the allegations were invented to excuse the loss of a candidate in the election.