Houston Chronicle

House to get Mueller report evidence

Democrats’ deal with Justice Department signals shift in standoff

- By Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro

WASHINGTON — The House expects to receive the first files of underlying evidence from Robert Mueller’s report as soon as Monday, after a sudden shift by the Justice Department as Democrats weigh impeachmen­t proceeding­s against President Donald Trump.

It’s unclear if the deal announced Monday, just moments before the start of a Judiciary Committee hearing with Watergate star witness John Dean, will produce the kind of documents Democrats want to see from the special counsel’s work. But it signaled the first real breakthrou­gh in the standoff over the report and came at the start of a week of ramped-up action by the House in the TrumpRussi­a probe.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., the chairman of the committee, said the Justice Department will provide some of Mueller’s “most im

portant files” and all members of the committee will be able to view them. He said the files will include those used to assess whether Trump obstructed justice.

For now, he said, the panel will not sue Attorney General William Barr to force compliance with a congressio­nal subpoena to release the unredacted Mueller report along with the underlying evidence.

“If the Department proceeds in good faith and we are able to obtain everything that we need, then there will be no need to take further steps,” Nadler said. “If important informatio­n is held back, then we will have no choice but to enforce our subpoena in court and consider other remedies.”

He added in a statement: “It is critical that Congress is able to obtain the informatio­n we need to do our jobs, ensuring no one is above the law.”

The sudden turn of events came ahead of a pivotal week for House Democrats, who are torn over whether to move forward with impeachmen­t proceeding­s and searching for ways to focus public attention on Trump’s actions.

Dean, a White House counsel under Richard Nixon who helped bring down his presidency, testified Monday that Mueller has provided Congress with a “road map” for investigat­ing Trump.

He said he saw parallels between Mueller’s findings regarding Trump and those of congressio­nal investigat­ors looking into Nixon’s administra­tion decades ago. He pointed to the way the presidents used their pardon power in an attempt to influence witness testimony and their efforts to seize control of the investigat­ion and direct the efforts of prosecutor­s.

Dean was supposed to be the headliner Monday, but some of the strongest testimony came from two former U.S. attorneys who served during the Obama administra­tion, Barbara McQuade and Joyce Vance. Both have become regulars on cable news shows, analyzing developmen­ts in the Mueller investigat­ion and offering criticism on Twitter of the president’s conduct.

Trump, apparently watching the televised hearing, tweeted, “Can’t believe they are bringing in John Dean, the disgraced Nixon White House Counsel.” He added his oftrepeate­d claim, “No Collusion — No Obstructio­n!”

At times, Dean, who said he last appeared before Congress in 1974, was forced to fend off attacks from committee Republican­s.

The top Republican on the committee, Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, dismissed Dean as a “godfather” figure. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, criticized Dean’s work and noted he pleaded guilty after Watergate.

The Justice Department said it was pleased the House committee had “agreed to set aside its contempt resolution and is returning to the traditiona­l accommodat­ion process.” The department “remains committed to appropriat­ely accommodat­ing Congress’s legitimate interests related to the Special Counsel’s Investigat­ion and will continue to do so provided the previously votedupon resolution does not advance,” spokeswoma­n Kerri Kupec said in a statement.

And at the same time, the Justice Department announced it was stepping up its counter-probe into the origins of the Russia investigat­ions, a priority for Trump and his Republican allies on Capitol Hill.

The department said Monday it has asked intelligen­ce agencies to preserve all relevant records and access to witnesses. Republican lawmakers are eager to dig into those documents and determine why Trump’s campaign was under scrutiny.

Democrats and Republican­s are vying to win over public opinion in the fallout from Mueller’s probe.

The special counsel concluded there was not sufficient evidence that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to swing the 2016 election, but Mueller also said he could not exonerate the president of obstructio­n of justice in the investigat­ion.

The procession of hearings and votes in the week ahead is partly designed to mollify anxious Democrats who have pushed House Speaker Pelosi to begin impeachmen­t proceeding­s immediatel­y. A growing number of Democrats say the House should start impeachmen­t proceeding­s in part because Trump is obstructin­g justice now by refusing to comply with congressio­nal subpoenas for documents and testimony. Pelosi, D-Calif., prefers to continue the investigat­ions.

On Tuesday, the House has scheduled a vote to authorize lawsuits against Barr and former White House counsel Donald McGahn for failing to comply with subpoenas from the Democratic-controlled House. The vote will put the full House on record approving the lawsuits, if leaders and committees decide they want to move forward with them.

On Wednesday, the House Intelligen­ce Committee intends to review the counterint­elligence implicatio­ns of the Russian meddling.

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 ?? Chip Somodevill­a / Getty Images ?? John Dean testifies Monday, telling Congress that Robert Mueller gave a map for investigat­ing the president.
Chip Somodevill­a / Getty Images John Dean testifies Monday, telling Congress that Robert Mueller gave a map for investigat­ing the president.

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