A federal appeals court will allow the House Judiciary Committee to access secret grand jury materials from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled two-to-one that the House can review redactions and other sealed materials from Mueller’s sprawling two-volume report, pursuant to its impeachment power. Democrats have left open the possibility of a second impeachment depending on the contents of the grand jury information.
“The Committee has established that it cannot ‘fairly and diligently’ make a final determination about the conduct described in both volumes of the Mueller Report ‘without the grand jury material referenced’ therein,” the ruling reads.
Tuesday’s decision has no immediate consequences, however, since a lengthy appeal to the full D.C. Circuit or the Supreme Court will follow. Though the materials could contain information harmful to President Donald Trump, congressional investigators won’t take possession of the information for months, if not longer.
Grand jury proceedings and the materials they generate are generally kept secret. One exception to that rule allows the disclosure of protected information “in connection with a judicial proceeding.” Writing for the majority, Judge Judith Rogers said House Democrats can obtain Mueller grand jury files under that exception since impeachment counts as a judicial proceeding. The committee’s need for grand jury evidence is especially pressing, Rogers added, because Mueller never reached definitive conclusions about Trump’s conduct. – READ MORE
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