In a move that reeks of desperation, the Democratically-led impeachment inquiry will now have access to the grand jury testimony contained within the Mueller report after a judge’s ruling.
The stunning development comes as House Democrats struggle with ways to compel the White House to comply with their investigation, particularly after President Donald Trump made it apparent that the White House will choose non-cooperation as their stance until a vote to authorize the probe occurs.
This latest impeachment push began as a look into a July 25th phone call between Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky. Now, with the Mueller report material back in the mix, who knows where the Democrats are headed.
A U.S. judge on Friday validated the legality of the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump and ordered his administration to hand over an unredacted copy of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report detailing Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, handing a major victory to the Democratic-led House of Representatives, undercut an argument that Trump’s fellow Republicans have made in attacking the impeachment inquiry. The judge said the House need not approve a resolution formally initiating the effort.
The U.S. Constitution gives the House wide latitude in handling impeachment. Democrats began the inquiry without putting such a resolution to a vote.
The judge gave the Justice Department until next Wednesday to provide the blacked out material from the Mueller report that was subpoenaed by the House Judiciary Committee.
The redacted grand jury materials were kept secret out of an abundance of safety for those who were interview during the process but who did not face charges. This is a standard procedure in cases such as this, and the ability of Congress to view these materials greatly enhances the chance that some of this sensitive information could leak to the public.
