The Supreme Court temporarily blocked House Democrats on Wednesday from gaining access to a trove of grand jury documents from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian intervention in the 2016 election.
The Court granted the Trump administration’s emergency request to keep the materials secret while the president’s legal team works to appeal their release. The House Judiciary Committee went to the Court to gain access to the redacted material from Mueller’s 2019 report after the Department of Justice declined to produce the information upon Democrats’ request.
Democrats on the committee argued that they needed access to the redacted portions to determine if President Donald Trump committed an impeachable offense during the course of the Russia probe. (RELATED: Mueller Says His Report Is His ‘Testimony’)
Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller testifies before the House Intelligence Committee about his report (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Mueller’s report in April 2019 concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election through trolling on social media, among other acts, but it failed to find collusion between Moscow and the president’s campaign. The former FBI director also declined to conclude that the president interfered with the investigation.
House Democrats voted on two articles of impeachment — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The House voted 230-197 on the first article, with Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard voting “present” and 229-198 on the second article. None of the Republicans voted to impeach. Republicans in the Senate acquitted him in February.
SCOTUS told the Trump administration that it must file a petition for review by June 1. The Court did not explain why it temporarily blocked the request, and the decision increases the odds that the matter will not be settled until after the 2020 election.
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