Impeachment inquiry legal, says US judge
WASHINGTON: A judge has ordered the Justice Department to give the House secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, handing a victory to Democrats as they gather evidence for the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.
In a Friday ruling that also affirmed the legality of the impeachment inquiry itself, US District Judge Beryl Howell ordered the department to turn over the materials by October 30. A Justice Department spokeswoman said it was reviewing the decision. The administration can appeal.
The ruling in favor of the House Judiciary Committee comes as Democrats gather closed-door testimony from current and former government officials about the Trump administration’s efforts to get Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden. The Mueller materials could reveal previously hidden details to lawmakers about Trump’s actions during the 2016 election and become part of the impeachment push.
The material covered by Howell’s order consists of redacted grand jury testimony mentioned in Mueller’s report. The Justice Department says that information is the only piece of the document that key lawmakers have not had access to. The judge rejected the Justice Department’s argument that impeachment does not qualify as a “judicial proceeding.” That distinction matters because, though grand jury testimony is ordinarily secret, one exemption that allows it to be legally disclosed is in connection with a judicial proceeding. Meanwhile, Trump’s White House officials are privately conceding they are losing the messaging battle against Democrats in the month-old, rapidly moving impeachment inquiry against the US President and have scrambled to create an impeachment war room that huddles together at 10 am almost every day to figure out an on-the-go communications strategy against the mounting threat to the Trump presidency.
Judge’s decision a blow to Trump, says Pelosi
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi hailed a US judge’s order on Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration should to hand over an unredacted copy of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report as a blow to the Republican President’s “attempt to put himself above the law.”
“Today’s ruling in the US District Court for the District of Columbia is another blow to President Trump’s attempt to put himself above the law,” Pelosi, a Democrat, said in a statement. “This critical court ruling affirms Congress’ authority to expose the truth for the American people.”