Supreme Court denies review in mystery grand jury subpoena case
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a $50,000-per-day contempt fine imposed on a mystery company for failing to comply with a subpoena in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
Court papers identified the company only as “Corporation” from “Country A.” The case attracted media attention in December when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit shut down an entire floor of the courthouse while lawyers argued over the subpoena. The Washington Post, Bloomberg and Reuters have news of the cert denial.
According to the articles, the company is a foreign financial institution with an office in the United States. The company has said it was a witness rather than a suspect in the Mueller investigation. It argued that it was protected from subpoena by the 1976 Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, and that complying with the subpoena would violate the laws of its home country.
The D.C. Circuit had upheld the subpoena in a ruling that cited that a reasonable probability that the information sought concerns commercial activity with a direct effect in the United States. The Supreme Court previously refused to stay that ruling.
It is unclear whether prosecutors will pursue the subpoena now that Mueller has wrapped up his investigation.
