Supreme Court temporarily denies House Democrats access to Mueller documents

[mystery-ak]

Supreme Court temporarily denies House Democrats access to Mueller documents
By John Kruzel - 05/20/20 04:22 PM EDT

The Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a request from House Democrats for immediate access to redacted grand jury materials from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.

The justices instead granted the Trump administration's request to continue shielding the secret grand jury transcripts and exhibits, further postponing a lower court’s disclosure order.

The Wednesday order also gives the Justice Department until June 1 to file a formal appeal of the March ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said the administration must hand over the materials that Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee initially requested as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Trump.

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https://thehill.com/regulation/498818-supreme-court-temporarily-denies-house-democrats-access-to-mueller-documents

[mystery-ak]

Supreme Court blocks House Judiciary Committee from obtaining Mueller grand jury records


by Anthony Leonardi
 | May 20, 2020 04:50 PM



The Supreme Court blocked the disclosure of grand jury materials in Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation.

In a written order, issued Wednesday without dissent, the high court agreed with a request by the Justice Department to halt a lower court decision to disclose the information to the Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee temporarily.

As the Supreme Court considers whether to take up the Trump administration's appeal, the question remains whether still-secret aspects of the Russia inquiry will remain under wraps until after the 2020 election.

DOJ Solicitor General Noel Francisco made the request in early May, asking the justices to weigh in on a case that would pose "substantial constitutional difficulties." Additionally, the Justice Department argued that breaching grand jury secrecy could have severe consequences for future witnesses wishing to testify.

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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/supreme-court-blocks-house-judiciary-committee-from-obtaining-mueller-grand-jury-records

[Elderberry]

Justices block release of secret Mueller grand jury materials

SCOTUSblog by Amy Howe 5/20/2020

https://www.scotusblog.com/2020/05/justices-block-release-of-secret-mueller-grand-jury-materials/

Today the Supreme Court blocked the disclosure to the House Judiciary Committee of grand jury materials from the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The Department of Justice had asked the court 13 days ago to put the release of the materials on hold while it appeals a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that would require it to provide portions of the Mueller report that had been redacted, along with grand jury transcripts and materials that had been kept secret. Today the justices granted that request, temporarily staying the D.C. Circuit’s ruling until DOJ files its petition for review, which now has a June 1 deadline, and the Supreme Court rules on that petition.

The dispute began last year, shortly after Attorney General William Barr released a version of Mueller’s report to Congress and the public that contained redactions made in part under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e), to protect the secrecy of grand jury materials. According to the House Judiciary Committee, the redactions at the heart of this case “bear on whether the President committed impeachable offenses by obstructing the FBI’s and Special Counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and his possible motivations for doing so.”

In July 2019, after DOJ declined to comply with a subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report, the committee went to federal district court in Washington, D.C., where it asked the chief judge, Beryl Howell, to order the disclosure of the parts of the Mueller report redacted under grand jury secrecy rules, as well as the related grand jury materials, such as transcripts and exhibits. The committee argued that the release was appropriate under a portion of Rule 6(e) that allows courts to disclose grand jury materials “preliminarily to or in connection with a judicial proceeding.”

More at link.