It is called In re Grand Jury Subpoena No. 18-3071 and it just might be the first ruling on an issue in the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller by the Supreme Court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently ruled on the matter under seal involving a corporation presumably owned by a foreign government. The corporation lost in its bid to quash the subpoena under the protections of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. The D.C. Circuit imposed a daily fine, which was enjoined by Chief Justice John Roberts on Sunday night. While not a ruling on the merit, it could be a historical moment as the first Mueller matter to make it to the Court.
Roberts ordered the Department of Justice to submit a response to the foreign company’s application by Dec. 31. It was the correct move since the issue of the scope of the law remains debatable. The administrative stay will afford the corporation a right to appeal without the penalty of a large daily running fine.
The framing of the case remains curious due to the involvement of a grand jury. Under Rule 6(e), grand jury information is non-public and its disclosure can for certain parties — like prosecutors and grand jurors — be a crime. It is rather foolish here since the foreign corporation knows about the investigation and the information being sought by prosecutors. The secrecy at most would keep third parties (and potential targets) from knowing about the investigation (which seems unlikely at this point). Nevertheless, it will continue as a sealed matter, though the court can release summary or redacted information at its own discretion.
The case has moved through the federal courts at an unusual clip. Very few disputes reach the Supreme Court just four months after they arose in a trial court, as is true here.
Russia, Russia,Russia, Collusion,Collusion,Collusion,Uranium,Uranium,Uranium.
On Christmas Day I sing my song:
Hey Zeus!
Full of Juice!
Don’t Let The Meat Loaf!
Judge Sullivan!
Judge Tigar!
AS AMERICAN PREPARED FOR THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY..
DONALD TRUMP WAS HAVING A MENTAL BREAKDOWN ON TWITTER
Donald J. Trump account @realDonaldTrump 3 hours ago
I am in the Oval Office & just gave out a 115 mile long contract for another large section of the Wall in Texas. We are already building and renovating many miles of Wall, some complete. Democrats must end Shutdown and finish funding. Billions of Dollars, & lives, will be saved!
Donald J. Trump account @realDonaldTrump 4 hours ago
Christmas Eve briefing with my team working on North Korea – Progress being made. Looking forward to my next summit with Chairman Kim!
Donald J. Trump account @realDonaldTrump 8 hours ago
I am all alone (poor me) in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come back and make a deal on desperately needed Border Security. At some point the Democrats not wanting to make a deal will cost our Country more money than the Border Wall we are all talking about. Crazy!
Donald J. Trump account @realDonaldTrump 8 hours ago
Saudi Arabia has now agreed to spend the necessary money needed to help rebuild Syria, instead of the United States. See? Isn’t it nice when immensely wealthy countries help rebuild their neighbors rather than a Great Country, the U.S., that is 5000 miles away. Thanks to Saudi A!
Donald J. Trump account @realDonaldTrump 8 hours ago
The Wall is different than the 25 Billion Dollars in Border Security. The complete Wall will be built with the Shutdown money plus funds already in hand. The reporting has been inaccurate on the point. The problem is, without the Wall, much of the rest of Dollars are wasted!
Donald J. Trump account @realDonaldTrump 9 hours ago
I never “lashed out” at the Acting Attorney General of the U.S., a man for whom I have great respect. This is a made up story, one of many, by the Fake News Media!
Donald J. Trump account @realDonaldTrump 10 hours ago
The only problem our economy has is the Fed. They don’t have a feel for the Market, they don’t understand necessary Trade Wars or Strong Dollars or even Democrat Shutdowns over Borders. The Fed is like a powerful golfer who can’t score because he has no touch – he can’t putt!
Donald J. Trump account @realDonaldTrump 10 hours ago
AMERICA IS RESPECTED AGAIN!
Donald J. Trump account @realDonaldTrump 10 hours ago
For all of the sympathizers out there of Brett McGurk remember, he was the Obama appointee who was responsible for loading up airplanes with 1.8 Billion Dollars in CASH & sending it to Iran as part of the horrific Iran Nuclear Deal (now terminated) approved by Little Bob Corker.
Donald J. Trump account @realDonaldTrump 11 hours ago
….We are substantially subsidizing the Militaries of many VERY rich countries all over the world, while at the same time these countries take total advantage of the U.S., and our TAXPAYERS, on Trade. General Mattis did not see this as a problem. I DO, and it is being fixed!
Donald J. Trump account @realDonaldTrump 11 hours ago
To those few Senators who think I don’t like or appreciate being allied with other countries, they are wrong, I DO. What I don’t like, however, is when many of these same countries take advantage of their friendship with the United States, both in Military Protection and Trade…
Donald J. Trump account @realDonaldTrump 11 hours ago
Virtually every Democrat we are dealing with today strongly supported a Border Wall or Fence. It was only when I made it an important part of my campaign, because people and drugs were pouring into our Country unchecked, that they turned against it. Desperately needed!
Hail victory hail POTUS DJT!!!
Caught up.
Extinction by glitter.
Wait!
The American People vote to establish a government but they can’t have all information on which to base their votes?
That is the whole problem.
Machination without representation.
____________________________
“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
– John Dalberg-Acton
_________________
The American “Deep State” has absolute power.
The American “Deep State” is absolutely corrupt.
Maybe it is all about the Uranium One stuff that the Clinton Foundation benefited 145 million from after Hillary Clinton signed off on. But I won’t hold my breath. The DOJ and FBI have had no stomach to investigate Clinton in the last 2 years. So it is probably a fishing expedition against Trump.
That would be pleasantly surprising if the real people who “colluded” with Russia were brought to justice 🎄
I get the feeling that no matter how shady anything about the Clintons seems they have a “get out of jail free” card.
Jeff Sessions assigned the U.S. Attorney in Salt Lake City to investigate a couple of lines of official misconduct in and among the FBI, the Criminal Division, and officials superordinate to both. We’ve learned in recent weeks that the U.S. Attorney in Salt Lake City ignored the Attorney-General and he and his staff did nothing. The Department of Justice is in business for itself, which is an excellent argument for dismantling it and for large scale dismissals among its personnel. Trump needed the co-operation of the Republican caucus in the Senate, which the denizens of the Fredocon Donorist Party would not give him.
Absurd,…
I missed that news….thanks for the update.
The “work” by Huber supposedly started in Nov. 2017— I was wondering what became of it.
I think JT and some others thought the Huber-Hirowitz investigations were a good substitute for appointment of a 2nd Special Counsel.
When they write the Jeff Sessions history, will he be portrayed as “…a dupe which will live in infamy…” or a devastatingly effective “deep state” mole?
DD
How far back should they go? Nixon’s treason, Reagan’s Iran/Contra, GHWB/Oct. surprise, Clinton’s contaminating Iraq water supply causing 100s thousands deaths of children, GW/Cheney 9/11 inside job, Obama/Hillary Honduras coup, Libya?
Investigate them all?
“How far back shoud they go?”
-Maybe as far back as the 2016 election.
Haha. he said “Uranium One” as if that means anything other than “I saw Bigfoot pawing through my underwear drawer” or some other such goggle-eyed wackjob tomfoolery. Thanks for playing and don’t run with scissors.
this is to “I also have an ‘authentic’ photo of Bill Clinton standing on the grassy knoll” dd
Cherchez l’aiguille.
Appparently 18 months is not enough time for this hocus pocus clown show.
Tell Uncle Putin “hello” comrade. How’s the weather in Minsk, these days?
this is to “just workin for the rubles” mikaelovich
The future Pol Pot Of America makes his plans.
I have a dream! One day the gloating of the bureaucrat will be the heavy breathing of the re-education trainee digging ditches in hot sun. Tears will run dry from dehydrated eyes. Hunger will replace parasitic abundance and the arrogant assurance of the wicked will be extinguished in despair.
Four months seems like it’s been 18 months and stil nothing.
But what does it have to do with the stated purpose of the 35 plus million dollar investigation. charge of Collusion? Nothing. Any fool much less a fool lawyer could have simply stated on Day One “Collusion Is Not A Crime – Investigation is Over Case Closed.” But where a true conspiracy occured hmmmmm free pass time.
The investigation has cost less than $10m, to date. The prosecutions have netted more than $45m in fines and forfeitures.
In Mueller I trust.
Rubbish. It was opened on 31 July 2016. Mueller has an effectively unlimited budget. The accounting won’t include the expenditures on the informants they were running before they formally opened the investigation, nor the cost of the oppo research the Clinton campaign paid for from Fusion
Why didn’t the eminently effective Mueller catch Manafort when he was committing his crimes years ago when Mueller was FBI Director? Who else did Mueller not prosecute?
Oh yeah, Hillary Clinton.
And Obama.
“If Comey had prosecuted Hillary Clinton, Comey would have convicted Barack Obama.”
– Andrew McCarthy, National Review
But still nothing to do with the original goal except the wide ranging powers is still ignoring the actual candidate with collusion/conspiracy dealing direct with Russia.
Place holder
Just guessing….Could it be Deutsche Bank?
The German multinational bank has been the subject of much controversy over the years. Deutsche Bank’s headquarters on Nov. 29 were raided by prosecutors in a money laundering investigation in connection with the Panama Papers. The raid came after the bank was fined in January 2017 for $630 million by U.S. and U.K. regulators in connection with a $10 billion Russian money laundering scheme. In 2015, Deutsche Bank pled guilty in the U.S. to wire fraud for its role in the 2012 Libor scandal and paid $2.5 billion in fines.
Troubles that follow Deutsche may also follow Trump, as it has widely been reported that Deutsche was the only bank willing to give Trump loans in the late 1990s — a time when most banks would not lend to Trump after his many failed business ventures. Trump’s financial disclosures show he has as much as $364 million in loans from the bank. The Wall Street Journal in March 2016 reported that Trump and his companies had received at least $2.5 billion in loans from Deutsche Bank and co-lenders since 1998
As plausible as anything I’ve read it heard. Good take, thanks.
It is not Deutsche Bank.One of the few thinks that we know is that the Corporation requesting the stay is owned by a Foreign Government. Deutsche Bank does not meet any of the requirements to qualify as government owned.
How about Alfa Bank, which had a special server at Trump Tower connected to its Moscow HQ
a time when most banks would not lend to Trump after his many failed business ventures.
Amazing the granular knowledge people claim to have regarding Donald Trump’s correspondence with banks.
The “many failed business ventures” is actually one set of Atlantic City properties in regard to which the Trump Organization was an equity investor. He applied for re-organization 4x on those properties before finally selling them.
Maybe we’ll know all about this in about 5 years from now.
If the foreign government-held corporation is a Russian entity, grand jury secrecy rules make very little sense (although enjoining the rather leaky Special Counsel’s team from leaking more about their investigation would be a welcome change).
Russia’s foreign intelligence operation is still world-class. It wouldn’t be surprising if Vladimir Putin got day-to-day intelligence reports on the grand jury’s deliberations. After all, if the company subpoenaed really is a Russian government-owned entity, they would as a matter of course be reporting their side of the case to their government.
All canny Russian SVR agents would have to do is flash New York Times employee badges and pass out some perks (booze, money, tickets to “Hamilton!”) to get any inside information they want at DoJ, it seems.
Disagree. All parties in court are entitled to the protection of grand jury secrecy. our legal system is based on equal application of the law. To “out” Russians just because they are Russians violates their rights.
“Justice delayed is justice deigned.”
Four months is fast?
Sure is, as any trial attorney will tell. I am a retired trial attorney with 31 years of litigation under my belt. I have tried cases, jury trials, in both state and federal courts. I have also handled appeals to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. I can assure you 4 months to the Supreme Court is a rocket. Normally takes years to get through, assuming the Supreme Court grants certiorari. Most such petitions are denied.