THE TIGHTENING NOOSE:

David Goodhand, an assistant U.S. attorney, acknowledged the grand jury's active status during a hearing in federal district court over a push to unveil the identity of a foreign state-owned firm that has been held in contempt for defying a Mueller subpoena.

The mystery company's case was denied a hearing earlier this week before the Supreme Court, and in the meantime the open government group Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press has sought access to all materials in the clandestine litigation, including the company's identity.

During a brief open hearing Wednesday, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court, Beryl Howell, pressed Goodhand to say if the grand jury Mueller had been using in the case remained active.

"It is continuing," the prosecutor replied. "It's continuing robustly."

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