Supreme Court Halts Fines Against Mystery Company Possibly Linked to Mueller Investigation

By Washington Examiner. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a temporary administrative stay of contempt sanctions that have been brought against an unknown company in a mysterious grand jury subpoena fight thought to be linked to special counsel Robert Mueller.

The move is a fairly procedural one, and gives the federal government until Dec. 31 to respond. Roberts, or all of the Supreme Court, could easily decide to lift the stay even before then, depending on how soon as it hears from the federal government. . .

The challenge reached the Supreme Court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday night. rejected the company’s appeal to quash the grand jury subpoena to turn over records.

Then on Saturday, the company formally filed an application with the Supreme Court, asking it to intervene and stay the lower court’s decision to comply with the subpoena — and also asked that the case remain under seal.

The company had also asked the Supreme Court to halt the continuing $5,000 per week fine it is incurring for not complying with the subpoena, an effort Judges David S. Tatel, Thomas B. Griffith, and Stephen F. Williams of the D.C. Circuit also rejected this week. (Read more from “Supreme Court Halts Fines Against Mystery Company Possibly Linked to Mueller Investigation” HERE)

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Chief Justice Roberts Issues Stay in Case of Unknown Subpoena

By Politico. Chief Justice John Roberts has stepped into a grand jury subpoena dispute that appears to involve special counsel Robert Mueller and an unknown company owned by a foreign country.

Roberts issued an order Sunday temporarily staying a contempt citation against the firm, as well as an escalating financial penalty a judge imposed for failing to comply with the subpoena.

The firm filed a stay petition at the Supreme Court on Saturday. Roberts did not grant the motion, but issued what appears to be a temporary stay designed to allow the court to consider whether to wade into the fight. He ordered the government to file a response by Dec. 31 at noon.

The identity of the firm and the foreign country at issue remain a mystery, but POLITICO first reported earlier this year that the dispute appeared to involve Mueller’s prosecutors. A POLITICO reporter stationed in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals clerk’s office in October heard a person connected to the appeal request a copy of the special counsel’s latest filing in the case. (Read more from “Chief Justice Roberts Issues Stay in Case of Unknown Subpoena” HERE)

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