Supreme Court says public may soon know more about mystery company in Mueller-related case

The justices also said the unnamed company must release redacted copies for the public record, an action that means the public may soon find out more about the company and its appeal.

The court did not act on the merits of the company's request.

The case concerns an unnamed corporation that is fighting a subpoena request from a DC-based grand jury. Lower courts have ruled that the company must turn over the information and imposed a $50,000 fine for every day it failed to do so following the appeal.

CNN previously reported that prosecutors from the special counsel's office were involved in the case at its early stages, suggesting that Mueller sought the information from the company for grand jury proceedings related to his criminal investigations. The case then continued through the court system with an unusual amount of secrecy around it, so that even the lawyers involved could not be seen at a later hearing.

Last week the Supreme Court denied an emergency request from the company to freeze the financial penalty, pending appeal.

In ruling against the company, the appeals court said the request fell within an exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act that limits foreign governments from being sued in US courts. The court also held that the company had not shown that its own country's law bar compliance.

One of the firms involved in the challenge is Alston & Bird, CNN has reported, a firm that has previously represented Russian interests, including working for a Russian oligarch and a contractor of the Russian government.

Steve Vladeck, a CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor of law at the University of Texas School of Law, said the ruling could mean the court will eventually rule against the company.

"All the court is doing is allowing the corporation to file their full appeal under seal, with a redacted version for the public, without any suggestion of how the Justices are likely to rule on that appeal," Vladeck said. "Indeed, the fact that the justices already refused to put the lower-court rulings on hold strongly implies that the court will turn the corporation's case away once it is fully briefed."

CNN's Katelyn Polantz contributed to this report.

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