A federal appeals court directed an unidentified corporation on Tuesday to comply with a grand jury subpoena believed to be tied to special counsel Robert Mueller III's probe.

A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling by Chief Judge Beryl Howell that denied the state-owned corporation's bid to quash the subpoena.

The corporation's appeal of that ruling led up to a sealed oral argument on Friday that closed an entire floor in the courthouse in an effort to keep the proceedings under wraps.