The U.S. Justice Department on Monday said it has appealed a lower court’s decision ordering it to turn over an unredacted copy of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report detailing Russian meddling in the 2016 election to the Democratically-controlled House Judiciary Committee.
In a filing with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the department also asked the court to stay its Friday order which directed the government to turn over the unredacted report by Oct. 30 while its appeal is pending.
The lower court ruling was also significant because Howell validated the legality of the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump by declaring the House does not need to approve a resolution formally initiating the effort.
The Justice department previously tried to block Democrats from accessing the full unredacted Mueller report, saying it would require the disclosure of secret grand jury materials and potentially harm ongoing investigations.
“A stay is warranted because, without a stay, the department will be irreparably harmed,” the department wrote in its notice to the court. “Once that information is disclosed, it cannot be recalled, and the confidentiality of the grand jury information will be lost for all time.” – READ MORE