A federal judge has denied a motion made by a Russian-based social media “troll farm” to dismiss charges levied against them by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Judge Dabney Friedrich, who sits on the United States Court for the District of Columbia, rejected the motion by Concord Management and Consulting, per reporting from The Hill. The organization has pleaded not guilty to charges made against them by Mueller, which include conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and attempts to interfere with U.S. elections in 2016, the year that Donald Trump was elected to become president.
The decision comes on the same day that Trump tweeted a series of social media postings ranting against the integrity of the Mueller probe.
Trump added that the investigation is “a disgrace to our nation” as well.
Yet the indictments placed by Mueller on Concord Management and Consulting seem to be legitimate, at least in the eyes of Judge Friedrich, putting into question Trump’s arguments against the investigation. Her decision on Thursday leaves in place the charges Mueller placed on that organization, and seems to suggest evidence exists to justify his charges against those who were part of a plan to interfere in our elections to help Trump.
To complicate matters further for the president, who has alleged the Mueller investigation is a “witch hunt” for quite some time now, Trump cannot even doubt the integrity of the judge who ruled in favor of Mueller Thursday. Judge Friedrich is herself an appointment made by Trump.
It’s not the first ruling in favor of the special counsel to be made by Friedrich either. In August this year, attorneys for Concord Management and Consulting tried to undermine Mueller’s position as special counsel, arguing his appointment was made against the tenets of the Constitution. Judge Friedrich, ruling in that case as well, found that Mueller’s appointment was Constitutional, according to reporting from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.