Hopefully one of the Russians indicted does show up.
That thought has occurred to me as well. Putin can get one of the 12 GRU officers to "volunteer" to act as a defendant. Offer him up for extradition. Fly him to New York and go to immigration and say "Here I am, arrest me."
Then get the lawyers involved in discovery. Demand that the servers be seized and held under the authority of the Court, and that they be made available to the defense for an "independent" forensic examination. And demand a speedy trial.
In all likelihood, Putin will not do this. He will thumb his nose at these indictments. And that's probably what he should do.
What happens if they hire a DC law firm and advise them that it would be in their best interest to represent Mother Russia and these 12 anonymous GRU agents, to the very very best of their ability. Never know when someone will have to deal with exposure to polonium or some other nasty thing.