Eric Dubelier Eric Dubelier of Reed Smith, a lawyer for Concord Management and Consulting LLC, charged in a special counsel's case, exits federal court in Washington, D.C., on June 15, 2018. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi / National Law Journal

Updated at 9:54 p.m.

Federal prosecutors in Washington on Monday moved to dismiss charges against a Russian company charged by the special counsel's office with participating in an alleged scheme to sow discord in the 2016 presidential election.

The company, Concord Management and Consulting, indicted in 2018 with other Russian entities, had been scheduled to stand trial in April in Washington's federal trial court. Prosecutors on Monday said they decided continuation of the case "promotes neither the interests of justice nor the nation's security," acknowledging that the company has no presence in the United States nor "exposure to meaningful punishment in the event of a conviction."

"Throughout, the government's intent has been to prosecute this matter consistent with the interests of justice. As this case has proceeded, however, it has become increasingly apparent to the government that Concord seeks to selectively enjoy the benefits of the American criminal process without subjecting itself to the concomitant obligations," prosecutors said in a filing in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Prosecutors said Concord had "availed itself of the court's jurisdiction to obtain discovery from the United States regarding efforts to detect and deter foreign election interference," noting that some of the information had been leaked online, "apparently, to discredit the investigation." But, prosecutors said, when pressed to comply with its own obligations in the case, Concord "refused to do so."

"In short, Concord has demonstrated its intent to reap the benefits of the court's jurisdiction while positioning itself to evade any real obligations or responsibility," prosecutors added.

Of the Russian individuals and companies charged, Concord was the only one to answer to the allegations in Washington, where it hired an American defense team led by Reed Smith partner Eric Dubelier.

The Reed Smith team vigorously contested the charges, arguing prosecutors had overstepped in their case.

"The government had fundamental problems with the way this case was charged and prosecuted," Dubelier said Monday evening. "The purpose of this indictment was to make a political statement regarding the outcome of the 2016 election that was grossly overstated. In preparing for trial we had every intention to prevail given the problems with the government's allegations."

He continued: "The government's evidence was completely devoid of any information that could establish that the defendants knew what they were doing was in violation of highly complex U.S. laws a regulations. This was a make-believe crime to fit the facts."

The remarkable decision to dismiss the case came just weeks after prosecutors accused Concord of failing to comply with trial subpoenas seeking internet protocol addresses used by the company and financial records, among other documents. Prosecutors had asked for Concord to be held in contempt, but U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich of the District of Columbia declined to do so at a recent hearing.

Friedrich at the time noted a filing by Concord's owner, Yevgeny Prigozhin—a Russian oligarch commonly known as "Putin's chef"—who claimed that the company had fully complied with the trial subpoenas. Prigozhin, among the 13 Russian individuals charged with scheming to interfere in the 2016 election, said the company was unable to locate many of the requested records because it has a policy of keeping emails and other documents for no more than three months.

Prosecutors on Monday described that Prigozhin's filing as "a misleading (at best) declaration from an incredible declarant."

On Monday, the government simultaneously submitted a classified filing to Friedrich. That filing presented "other facts described in more detail" about the Justice Department's decision to drop the case against Concord.

"The government must also weigh the potential risks to the national security that are necessarily associated with a trial of this nature. A trial of this case risks publicizing sensitive law enforcement information regarding measures used to investigate and protect against foreign influence over the political system," prosecutors wrote in Monday's filing.

Prosecutors said Monday's filing:

There is a substantial federal interest in defending American democratic institutions, exposing those who endeavor to criminally interfere with them, and holding them accountable, which is why this prosecution was properly commenced in the first place. In light of the defendant's conduct, however, its ephemeral presence and immunity to just punishment, the risk of exposure of law enforcement's tools and techniques, and the post-indictment change in the proof available at trial, the balance of equities has shifted. It is no longer in the best interests of justice or the country's national security to continue this prosecution. 

The United States, according to the government's filing "will continue its efforts to apprehend the individual defendants and bring them before this court to face the pending charges."

The April trial in the Concord case likely would have been postponed, as the court in Washington, like many others, has curtailed activity in the face of the coronavirus threat. At a recent hearing, prosecutor Adam Jed, who served on former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team, questioned whether Concord was meaningfully participating in the case and floated the idea of delaying the trial.

Chief Judge Beryl Howell on Monday, pointing to the coronavirus crisis, announced all federal civil and criminal trials in Washington would be postponed at least until May 11.

 

Read more:

'Unwarranted Cheap Shot': Lawyers in Russia Troll Farm Case Feud Over Trial Subpoenas

Mueller's Team Questions How Files in Russia Case Ended Up Online

'Knock It Off': Judge Upbraids Reed Smith Partner Litigating Mueller Case

Tempers Flare at Russia Hearing Over Prosecutor, Defense Phone Call

How Law Firms Are Protecting Sensitive Information in Russia Cases

Reed Smith's Russia Work in Mueller Case Gets Closeup in Court

 

This report was updated with comment from a lawyer for Concord.