Still Fishing: Congress Wins Access to Redacted Mueller Evidence

A Secret Congressional Grand Jury was granted testimony from Mueller’s Russia probe in a federal appeals court ruling on Thursday.

Big Win for #NeverTrump House

A 2-1 opinion from a three-judge panel decided that House Democrats were entitled to the materials, upholding a lower court opinion from last year. The evidence from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation is granted to aid an ongoing investigation into President Trump’s conduct, which previously sparked an impeachment inquiry, which led to a trial that ultimately ended with Trump’s acquittal.

Judge Judith Rogers said that Mueller’s lack of conclusions led the Committee to establishing that a “fair and diligent” final determination regarding Trump’s conduct could only be made with the help of the “grand jury material referenced therein.”

This marks one win for the House so far in this court, as it suffered a defeat two weeks ago when judges decided they wouldn’t be forcing a testimony out of former White House counsel Don McGahn in front of Congress.

Neither side holds the upper hand as of yet. The House previously sought materials from Mueller’s 448-page report in relation to the impeachment inquiry, arguing that it met the definition of grand jury testimony and its secrecy, designed to protect the privacy of people without charges or those defined as peripheral to a criminal investigation. Exceptions allow for materials to be turned over, such as if it is in connection with a judicial proceeding.

Lawyers argued that the materials from the report had nothing to do with the impeachment inquiry and the case it’s investigating. The decision was appealed by the Justice Department.