Justice Department drops plans for trial over Russian interference in 2016 U.S. election

The public filing offered scant details, but suggested that someone in the U.S. intelligence apparatus had decided that disclosing some of the evidence against Concord would expose U.S. intelligence capabilities. Prosecutors asked to submit a separate, secret, classified filing to the court that explained those concerns in more detail.

While prosecutors were not specific in their public filing, one disclosed at a recent court hearing that the Justice Department planned to introduce a mystery witnesswho they said would implicate Prigozhin in election interference outside Russia. It is unclear whether that person is an intelligence asset, defector or someone else.

Intelligence officials also may have concluded that revealing certain evidence against Concord could put at risk Russians who helped the U.S. conclude that the 2016 activities were directed by the Kremlin. One such Russian with Kremlin ties was housed by the CIA in the Washington suburbs until his identity became public last year.

The Justice Department also filed a criminal case last month that suggested the Russian government was seeking to closely monitor Russians cooperating with U.S. intelligence agencies.