Trump-appointed judge may slap contempt charge against Russian firm nailed by Mueller

A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump is considering a contempt of court charge against a Russian firm indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich issued a one-paragraph order siding with prosecutors and gave lawyers for Concord Management and Consulting until the end of Friday to explain why the firm should not face a penalty for missing a deadline to produce documents, reported Politico.

The special counsel charged the St. Petersburg-based company and two other Russian businesses with funding an online influence operation aimed at disrupting the 2016 election.

Concord is controlled by Yevgeniy Prigozhin, a Russia oligarch known as President Vladimir Putin's chef, and is the only Russian entity to fight the charges in court.

A trial is scheduled to begin April 1, and the judge also ordered federal prosecutors to make public a redacted version of its motion explaining why Concord has not complied with pretrial document demands.