Russian firm tied to 'Putin's cook' poised to plead not guilty in U.S.

[May 09, 2018]  By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Russian company accused by U.S. prosecutors of funding a propaganda operation to tilt the 2016 presidential election in President Donald Trump's favor and stir disharmony in the United States is expected to plead not guilty on Wednesday at a court hearing.

Concord Management and Consulting LLC is one of three entities and 13 Russian individuals indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office in February in an alleged criminal and espionage conspiracy to tamper in the U.S. race, boost Trump and disparage his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

The indictment said Concord is controlled by Russian businessman Evgeny Prigozhin, who U.S. officials have said has extensive ties to Russia's military and political establishment. Mueller's indictment said Concord controlled funding, recommended personnel and oversaw the activities of the propaganda campaign.

Prigozhin, also personally charged by Mueller, has been dubbed "Putin's cook" by the Russian media because of his catering business that has organized banquets for Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior political figures. He has been hit with sanctions by the U.S. government.

Concord, charged with conspiring to defraud the United States, will be arraigned at a hearing before Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey in federal court in Washington.

Mueller's indictment said the Russian defendants adopted false online personas to push divisive messages, traveled to the United States to collect intelligence and orchestrated political rallies while posing as Americans. Moscow has denied meddling in the election.

Mueller also is investigating whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia and whether the president has unlawfully sought to obstruct the probe. Trump has denied collusion and obstruction, calling Mueller's investigation a "witch hunt."

Russia does not have an extradition agreement with the United States, making it difficult to apprehend the Russian defendants. Concord last month revealed in a court filing it had retained U.S.-based attorneys Eric Dubelier and Katherine Seikaly of the law firm Reed Smith to defend it.

Mueller's office tried unsuccessfully to win a delay in the arraignment, saying it was unsure if Dubelier and Seikaly were authorized to represent Concord because the Office of the Prosecutor General of Russia had declined to accept a court summons.

Concord's lawyers have said it plans to plead not guilty. In court filings, they took issue with questions from Mueller's office about which corporate representative would appear in court for Concord and who was paying their legal fees.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Will Dunham)

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