Earlier, News Views posted that Federal Judge Beryl Howell ordered the Department of Justice to turn over all redacted parts of the Mueller Report to the House Judiciary Committee by October 30th, 2019. But, there’s more to this ruling than originally posted.
In a 75 page ruling, Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell of Washington handed another “victory to House Democrats, saying the House was legally engaged in a judicial process that exempts Congress from normal grand jury secrecy rules.”
The Judiciary Committee will also get to view all Grand Jury evidence, something Congress is not normally allowed to do. However, since Congress is in the midst of an impeachment inquiry, the Judge ruled they have the right to view the evidence.
In fact, she dismissed Republican arguments/talking points that claimed the House must first vote to authorize an impeachment inquiry. She called those arguments “appealing” but legally “fatally flawed.”
“Even in cases of presidential impeachment, a House resolution has never, in fact, been required to begin an impeachment inquiry,” Howell said. In the cases of all three presidents who faced such an action — Andrew Johnson, Richard M. Nixon and Bill Clinton — the House Judiciary Committee had begun investigating or received grand jury materials before a full House vote, the judge said.
“No governing law requires this test — not the Constitution, not House Rules, and not [the grand jury secrecy rule], and so imposing this test would be an impermissible intrusion on the House’s constitutional authority,” Howell wrote.
The Washington Post:
More than likely, the administration will appeal this ruling.
