Andrew Miller, an associate of Roger Stone subpoenaed during special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, remains wanted for questioning in the investigation’s aftermath, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
The Department of Justice said in a federal appeals court filing that prosecutors continue to seek testimony from Mr. Miller in spite of the special counsel’s probe concluding.
“The need for expedition in this grand jury matter — which arises from a subpoena served more than a year ago — outweighs the only harm that Miller claims, which is the burden of traveling to Washington, D.C. (at government expense) to testify and the attendant risk of his case becoming moot,” wrote prosecutors for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C.
“Contrary to Miller’s suggestion, the government has a continued need for his testimony, which concerns an ongoing investigation that is now being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia,” they wrote.
A former aide to Mr. Stone, President Trump’s longtime confidant, Mr. Miller was served with a subpoena by the special counsel’s office in May 2018 compelling his appearance before a grand jury empaneled as part of Mr. Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. He refused to comply and was held in civil contempt pending appeal, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirmed that ruling earlier this year.
Mr. Stone was ultimately charged by the Justice Department in January 2019, and Mr. Mueller completed the special counsel’s investigation and summarized its conclusions in a redacted report released last month.
In the interim Mr. Miller sought a stay on the appeals court ruling that prompted the prosecution’s response Thursday.
“The public’s interest in swift justice far outweighs any inconveniences that Miller faces. Miller’s motion to stay the mandate should be denied,” prosecutors wrote.
Paul Kamenar, a lawyer for Mr. Miller, disputed the government’s objections when reached for comment and called the claim about needing his client’s testimony “highly questionable.”
“In short, we think it is an abuse of the grand jury and a waste of their time and resources to insist on Mr. Miller’s grand jury testimony in response to a Mueller subpoena issued almost a year ago,” Mr. Kamenar told The Washington Times. “The government could have asked the Court to send the case back down to the trial court almost two months ago when the appeals court ruling was issued but failed to do so.”
Mr. Stone, 66, served as an adviser to Mr. Trump’s election campaign through 2015. He is accused of lying to congressional investigators about his contacts during the 2016 race and has been charged as a result of the special counsel’s probe with counts of obstruction, witness tampering and perjury. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts, and his trial is slated to start later this year.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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