Robert Mueller’s Grand Jury Was Spotted In A Washington Courthouse, What That Means Is Unclear

A full two weeks after Robert Mueller completed his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, a court reporter noticed Mueller’s grand jury inside of a courthouse in Washington, D.C.

The reporter, CNN’s Katelyn Polantz, was at the courthouse to cover an unrelated court case when she noticed members of the grand jury were present. Taking to Twitter, Polantz shared a screenshot of an article she had just published, updated shortly after 1 a.m.

As Politico recently reported, the implications of the continued activity of Mueller’s grand jury are uncertain but potentially interesting.

Last month, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Goodhand indicated that the special counsel’s grand jury was “continuing robustly,” even after the official conclusion of Mueller’s investigation and delivery of his report to Attorney General William Barr. Legal analysts have speculated that the continued activity of the grand jury could suggest further developments in the investigation.

While the specific nature of the grand jury’s work is not at all clear, Goodhand did confirm its active status for a matter related to an attempt to reveal the identity of a state-owned foreign fir, which was held in contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena related to the Russia investigation.

As of now, the firm’s identity remains a mystery. In March, the Supreme Court chose not to grant the case a hearing. In the meantime, the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, an organization that advocates for transparency in government, is attempting to uncover documents and materials related to the indeterminate litigation, as well as the unidentified company at the center of it. Theodore Boutrous, the lead attorney for the group, said they had a great interest in the questions raised about the future of the Russia investigation, which is largely considered to have been completed.

I wrote a story today about a DC Circuit decision today on grand jury secrecy and what it means for Mueller. And also saw this at the courthouse https://t.co/sw6D0rRg5x pic.twitter.com/wUczzG8KQW

— Katelyn Polantz (@kpolantz) April 6, 2019

Peter Carr, spokesperson for Mueller and his investigative team, did not comment on the status or activities of the grand jury.

Nonetheless, legal analysts and others close to the topic at hand are beginning to speculate about what the grand jury activity could mean.

“I worked with [Goodhand] in this matter,” said former Assistant U.S. Attorney Gene Rossi. “He uses his words very carefully. The use of ‘robustly’ is not bluster or gratuitous. That word strongly suggests that the handoffs from Robert Mueller’s office are alive and kicking and that the Washington U.S. Attorney’s Office could be another troubling front for the president and the White House.”