Washington: A Russian company indicted in the special counsel investigation attacked the case in an acerbic court filing Monday that accused the government of charging the company with a "make-believe crime."

The sharp rhetoric from Concord Management and Consulting LLC suggests the makings of a pitched court fight and a fresh challenge to the authority of special counsel Robert Mueller, who was appointed by the Justice Department last May to investigate potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.

The company was indicted in February on charges of conspiring to meddle in the 2016 presidential election by funding a covert social media campaign aimed in part at getting Republican Donald Trump elected president.

The indictment, which also named two other Russian companies and 13 individuals, was the first brought by Mueller's team to directly attach criminal charges to Russian attempts to interfere in the election.

Concord is controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a wealthy businessman with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin who was placed on a US sanctions list earlier this year. It is accused of providing funding for a huge Russian troll farm that directed a hidden but powerful social media campaign that investigators say was aimed at sowing discord among Americans and at favouring Trump over Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.