Continuing robustly......

Mueller grand jury 'continuing robustly,' prosecutor says

The special counsel's office officially concluded its investigation on Friday, but several loose ends remain.

By DARREN SAMUELSOHN

The special counsel’s grand jury investigating Russian collusion into the 2016 presidential election is “continuing robustly” despite the end of Robert Mueller’s probe, a federal prosecutor said in court Wednesday.

David Goodhand, an assistant U.S. attorney, acknowledged the grand jury’s active status during a hearing in federal district court over a push to unveil the identity of a foreign-owned company that has been held in contempt for defying a Mueller subpoena.

The mystery company’s case was denied a hearing earlier this week before the Supreme Court, and in the meantime the open government group Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press has sought access to all materials in the clandestine litigation, including the company’s identity.

During a brief open hearing Wednesday, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court, Beryl Howell, pressed Goodhand to say if the grand jury Mueller had been using in the case remained active.

“It is continuing,” the prosecutor replied. “It’s continuing robustly.”

The fact the grand jury is continuing its work adds a new layer of uncertainty to the Mueller probe, which Attorney General William Barr announced on Friday was finished.

Barr also released a four-page summary explaining the special counsel had not found a conspiracy between Trump’s campaign and Russia to sway the election. But Barr also noted that Mueller had not reached a conclusion on whether the president obstructed justice.

Separately, the attorney general said Mueller had no more indictments — either to be released or under seal — in the case.

Mueller’s office in recent days has been handing off a series of its cases to federal prosecutors across the government as it closes up shop, including the mystery subpoena fight that’s been ongoing since last year.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., where Goodhand works is now leading the subpoena fight, as well as Mueller’s upcoming trial in November against longtime Trump associate Roger Stone.

Mueller spokesman Peter Carr declined to comment on the federal prosecutor’s statement in court about the active grand jury.