The special counsel’s office on Tuesday publicly praised Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom for its cooperation in a U.S. Justice Department foreign-lobbying investigation, drawing a distinction between the New York law firm and an indicted Russian company that claims it is unfairly facing criminal prosecution.

Defense lawyers for the Russian firm Concord Management and Consulting, charged with participating in a plot to interfere in the 2016 election, argue the company is the victim of selective prosecution and should be allowed to probe how Skadden inked a civil settlement with prosecutors and was not charged in any criminal case.