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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday March 17 2020, @01:43PM   Printer-friendly
from the prosecution-lacks-conviction dept.

https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-move-to-drop-charges-against-russian-firm-filed-in-mueller-probe/

A federal judge on Monday dismissed charges against a Russian company accused of funding the Kremlin's efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election, after federal prosecutors said the company has flaunted court rules and made the prosecution more trouble than it is worth.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich came hours after the Justice Department asked to drop the charges against Concord Management and Consulting.

"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," the government said in a 9-page motion filed Monday. "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."

Part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, a grand jury in February 2018 indicted Concord Management and Consulting, as well as 13 Russian nationals and two other companies in connection with Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential elections using social media troll farms and influence campaigns.

Concord Management was the only alleged conspirator to enter an appearance in court and vigorously contested the charges over the ensuing two years.

But prosecutors say Concord Management has never really participated in the prosecution, instead using court proceedings to collect information about how the U.S. government responds to and monitors efforts from foreign countries to interfere in its elections.


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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by hendrikboom on Tuesday March 17 2020, @02:44PM (15 children)

    by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday March 17 2020, @02:44PM (#972229) Homepage Journal

    There well may have been evidence. The grand jury seemed to think so. But without jurisdiction, evidence is useless.

    Starting Score:    1  point
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       Insightful=1, Interesting=3, Overrated=1, Disagree=1, Total=6
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   5  
  • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday March 17 2020, @03:14PM (10 children)

    by DeathMonkey (1380) on Tuesday March 17 2020, @03:14PM (#972253) Journal

    It's not like this would be hard to prove. The DNC hacking, maybe, but this is about the troll farm not the hacking.

    I mean, crap, they couldn't even remember to turn their VPN on first! [twitter.com]

    • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @03:25PM (9 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @03:25PM (#972262)

      The DNC "hacker"/leaker is a true American hero! He needs to get the presidential medal of freedom. We desperately need more like him!

      • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @03:51PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @03:51PM (#972286)

        The DNC "hacker"/leaker is a true American hero!

        Unfortunately he fell victim to an all-too-common occurrence these days:

        being shot during a robbery in broad daylight without having anything stolen

        Happens all the time.

      • (Score: 0, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @08:16PM (7 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @08:16PM (#972449)

        Check out all the downmods!

        Democrat BrownShirts are hyperactive today!

        They are doing Trump's dirty work for him. They actually prefer him to their own candidate!

        • (Score: 2, Funny) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday March 17 2020, @09:12PM (6 children)

          by DeathMonkey (1380) on Tuesday March 17 2020, @09:12PM (#972479) Journal

          WAAAAAAHHHH! People don't like my internet post.

          I was also downmodded but you don't see me crying about it like a little bitch.

          • (Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @10:03PM (4 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @10:03PM (#972499)

            WAAAAAAHHHH! People don't like my internet post.

            Nah, it's democrats saying, WAAAHH! you hurt my feels!

            Then they try to filter out the post for everybody.

            Downmodders are the whiny little bitches. We need to publicly shame them more.

            • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday March 18 2020, @10:48AM (3 children)

              by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 18 2020, @10:48AM (#972703) Journal

              Downmodders are the whiny little bitches. We need to publicly shame them more.

              You're not even starting to do that.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 18 2020, @04:47PM (2 children)

                by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 18 2020, @04:47PM (#972810)

                That's right The little psychos are loving the attention, so they'll probably do it more. I don't mind. The visiting aliens can see right through them.

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 19 2020, @12:26AM (1 child)

                  by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 19 2020, @12:26AM (#972992)

                  Guess I'll be the one to let you know, you're the one coming off as a little psycho right now.

                  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 19 2020, @10:59PM

                    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 19 2020, @10:59PM (#973328)

                    Yeah well, at least I'm not a democrat! So there's still hope...

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 18 2020, @07:47PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 18 2020, @07:47PM (#972887)

            That's probably because you downvote more than anybody on this site. I'll grant you that sliver of self awareness to see the irony in complaining about it. Anyhow, you always hand the handful of 2 or 3 suspects to give you a bump right back.

  • (Score: 5, Informative) by hemocyanin on Tuesday March 17 2020, @03:58PM

    by hemocyanin (186) on Tuesday March 17 2020, @03:58PM (#972292) Journal

    LOL: https://johnhelms.attorney/grand-jury-indict-ham-sandwich/ [johnhelms.attorney]

    Before the grand jury votes on an indictment, the Government will present evidence to the grand jury. Usually, this consists of a law enforcement agent testifying about the evidence the agent knows would show the defendant is guilty. The agent is allowed to testify about what others have told the agent. This is called hearsay. In trials, hearsay is normally not allowed, but it is allowed in grand jury proceedings. The accused does not participate in the presentation to the grand jury. This means that the accused and the lawyer for the accused cannot cross-examine the agent, present their own evidence, or even be present. In addition, the Government is not required to present both sides’ positions. So, a grand jury proceeding is very one-sided.

    Finally, in order to vote for an indictment, grand jurors must only be convinced that there is probable cause to believe that the defendant committed the crime charged. Probable cause is a very low standard of proof. It is far less than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard required to prove someone guilty at a trial. It basically means that a reasonable person could believe that the person probably committed the crime. This does not even mean that the person probably committed the crime—only that a reasonable person could believe that.

    The one-sidedness, combined with the low standard of proof (probable cause), means that federal grand juries almost always vote to indict someone. When I was a federal prosecutor, I do not recall a federal grand jury ever voting down a proposed indictment in my district. The ease of getting an indictment is why it is said that a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by RandomFactor on Tuesday March 17 2020, @04:21PM

    by RandomFactor (3682) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday March 17 2020, @04:21PM (#972311) Journal

    The grand jury seemed to think so.

    Well, that at least puts defendants up there with a ham sandwich :-\
     
    Dropping the charges because a defendant is doing what defendants do leans towards there being an expectation that no defense would be mounted and the purpose of charging was more strongly weighted towards the visuals of indicting Russians than any serious interest in prosecuting. There is likely some evidence under the covers, but it could easily be rationalization of a pre-existing view vs. anything concrete.

    --
    В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Captival on Tuesday March 17 2020, @05:04PM

    by Captival (6866) on Tuesday March 17 2020, @05:04PM (#972332)

    Jurisdiction was a problem from the very beginning, so why did they spend all this time and money and wait until now to cancel? Clearly because it was all a dog and pony show to begin with.

  • (Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @05:21PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @05:21PM (#972341)

    In a related story, the same House members who said during the Impeachment that it was absolutely vital to question John Bolton, have decided not to bother. That attempt to destroy Trump failed, and besides, they have this new shiny thing (Corona virus) that will bring Trump down, this time definitely!