A federal court judge on Friday ordered the Department of Justice to turn over grand jury material referenced in redacted portions of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report to the House Judiciary Committee.
Beryl Howell, the chief judge for the Washington, D.C. district court, ordered DOJ to turn over the materials by Wednesday, Oct. 30.
“The Department of Justice claims that existing law bars disclosure to the Congress of grand jury information,” Howell wrote. “DOJ is wrong.”
The judge also found that despite public protestations from the Trump administration that House Democrats have not actually launched a formal impeachment inquiry, one is underway.
The White House Counsel’s office has refused to cooperate with the inquiry, arguing it’s illegitimate because the House didn’t hold a formal vote to declare one.
“Even in cases of presidential impeachment, a House resolution has never, in fact, been required to begin an impeachment inquiry,” Howell wrote.
The Judiciary Committee “has shown that it needs the grand jury material referenced and cited in the Mueller Report to avoid a possible injustice in the impeachment inquiry,” and that the “need for disclosure is greater than the need for continued secrecy.”
