A law firm that has represented Russian interests in the past is involved in the legal fight over a mystery grand jury subpoena thought to be tied to special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, CNN reported Wednesday.
The news outlet said it has learned that Alston & Bird and its D.C.-based white-collar lawyer Ted Kang and North Carolina-based appellate attorney Brian Boone are involved in the case, but it's not clear whether they represent the company, the country's regulators or another interested party.
Nick Clarke, a spokesman for the firm, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill. Kang and Boone also did not immediately respond to The Hill's requests for comment on CNN's report.
The news is among the first details to emerge in the case, which has been shrouded in secrecy. The subpoena, which seeks information from a foreign-owned company, known only in court documents as “Country A,” and all related filings have been kept under seal.
CNN's report comes a day after the Supreme Court refused to intervene in the case. In an order that did not list any dissents, the court denied a request to stay a lower court ruling that held the company in contempt and forced it to pay $50,000 a day in fines until it complied with the subpoena. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that order last month.
The high court also announced on Tuesday that it had received a request to file an appeal in the case under seal. The court released a heavily redacted copy of that motion that provided no new details.
CNN reported that Alston & Bird helped Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska get his U.S. visa reinstated in 2003 and he paid the firm an addition $270,000 for their work over the next few years. Deripaska is a business contact of onetime Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, according to the report.
Updated at 4:10 p.m.