By Mark Sherman
The Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily prevented the House of Representatives from obtaining secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
The court's unsigned order keeps previously undisclosed details from the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election out of the hands of Democratic lawmakers at least until early summer. The court will decide then whether to extend its hold.
The federal appeals court in Washington ruled in March that the documents should be turned over because the House Judiciary Committee’s need for the material in its investigation of President Donald Trump outweighed the Justice Department’s interests in keeping the testimony secret.
Mueller’s 448-page report, issued in April 2019, “stopped short” of reaching conclusions about Trump’s conduct, including whether he obstructed justice, to avoid stepping on the House’s impeachment power, the appeals court said.
The committee was able to persuasively argue that it needed access to the underlying grand jury material to make its own determinations about the president’s actions, the court said.
The materials initially were sought last summer, but by the time the appeals court ruled in March, Trump had been impeached by the House and acquitted by the Senate.
The Justice Department said in its Supreme Court filings that the court’s action was needed in part because the House hasn’t given any indication it “urgently needs these materials for any ongoing impeachment investigation.”
The House had opposed the delay on the grounds that its investigation of Trump was continuing, and that time is of the essence because of the approaching election. The current session of the House will end Jan. 3, and lawmakers elected in November will take their seats.
The committee investigation “continues today and has further developed in light of recent events,” the House told the justices, citing the “possible exercise of improper political influence” on decisions to seek a shorter prison term for Trump confidant Roger Stone and end the prosecution of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, despite his two guilty pleas.
The case is one of several ongoing court disputes between the Trump administration and Congress.
The Supreme Court heard arguments last week over whether Trump’s accountants and banks must turn over financial records to House committees. The administration is not a party to the case but is backing the president.
The appeals court also is weighing whether former White House counsel Don McGahn must appear before the committee to answer questions related to the Mueller investigation. And the Justice Department has said it will ask the Supreme Court to step in and kill a lawsuit alleging that Trump is illegally profiting off the presidency through his luxury Washington hotel.
Mueller’s report detailed multiple interactions between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia and examined several episodes involving the president for potential obstruction of justice. Mueller said his team did not find sufficient evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and the Kremlin to tip the election, though pointedly noted that he could not exonerate the president for obstruction.
Portions of the report were blacked out, including grand jury testimony and material that Mueller said could harm ongoing investigations or infringe on the privacy of third parties.
Grand jury testimony is typically treated as secret, in part to protect the privacy of people who are not charged or are considered peripheral to a criminal investigation. But several exceptions allow for the material to be turned over, including if it is in connection with a judicial proceeding.
Lower courts agreed with lawmakers that impeachment is considered a judicial proceeding, rejecting Justice Department arguments to the contrary.
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin started their heavily scrutinized one-on-one meeting in Helsinki, Finland, on Monday. "[Putin] has been in power for a very long time, almost 20 years now, he is a former KGB officer, and he's not interested in playing nice," says Natalia Antonova, former editor of The Moscow News. The meeting comes just days after the U.S. Justice Department indicted 12 Russian military officers for trying to influence the 2016 presidential election. Before the meeting, Trump described the federal investigation as a "Rigged Witch Hunt!"
While the Trump baby blimp flew over London, tempers flared on the streets. Many of the same passions that help fuel Donald Trump's popularity in the U.S. are very much alive and well in the UK.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller's move Friday was the first time the probe has targeted the Russian government. The Russian-orchestrated conspiracy didn't, however, influence vote counts, says Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
The president denied that he criticized British Prime Minister Theresa May's handling of Brexit in an interview with The Sun newspaper, calling it "fake news." His comments come just a day after The Sun posted its recorded interview online. Trump and May held a joint press conference on Friday where they both confirmed that the UK and the U.S. would strike up a special trade deal after Brexit.
These are the headlines you Need2Know:
*President Trump is in England preparing for a joint news conference with Theresa May. While the duo dined last night, The Sun newspaper published a sit-down interview with the president where he criticized May’s handling of Brexit. Trump warned trade deals with England could be nixed if Brexit isn’t handled properly.
*FBI agent Peter Strzok was removed from working on the Hillary Clinton email probe and the Trump-Russia investigation after text messages were discovered in which he criticized the president.
*Stormy Daniels made an encore appearance at the same strip club she was arrested at the night prior.
*A Kansas City water park will not reopen after a 10-year-old boy died on a water slide.
*Serena Williams beat Julia Görges of Germany yesterday to reach her 10th Wimbledon final.
Cheddar Big News's Jill Wagner gives us the details.
President Trump, on his last day at the NATO summit in Brussels, declared that other members of the alliance had agreed to increase defense spending. Minutes later, however, French president Emmanuel Macron disputed those claims, saying that all members had committed to the previous spending target. Trump is now in London for his first visit to the British capital since winning the White House.
These are the headlines you Need2Know:
* Confusion at the NATO summit after President Trump said allies will add billions of dollars to defense spending. But French president Emmanuel Macron rebuffed those claims.
* Stormy Daniels was arrested after an alleged misdemeanor at a Columbus, Ohio, strip club. Her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, has also been working to reunite families at the southern border.
* The U.S. Senate voted yesterday on a non-binding resolution giving it a say on what tariffs are levied and against whom.
* New evidence prompted the Department of Justice reopened the case of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy who was killed in 1955 in Money, Miss.
* John Schnatter, founder and former CEO of Papa John’s, has resigned his chairman role after a racially-charged comment on a conference call.
* Americans made it to both the men’s and women’s Wimbledon semifinals, the first time since 2009.
Cheddar Big News' Jill Wagner tells us the latest.
President Donald Trump's aggressive stance at the two-day NATO summit in Brussels, on top of his antagonizing trade policies, have "brought the transatlantic alliance to the lowest point,” says Joshua Meltzer, senior fellow of global economy and development at the Brookings Institute.
Stocks dipped today after the White House threatened to impose a new set of tariffs on China on $200 billion worth of goods. However, Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones, says this could be an opportunity for investors. "Put money to work today."
These are the headlines you Need2Know:
The NATO Summit got off to a heated start as President Trump already criticized member countries for not paying their fair share of defense spending.
The Trump administration also missed its promised deadline to reunite dozens of migrant families.
A natural gas leak in Sun Prairie, Wisc., turned deadly when an explosion erupted for several hours.
Brett Kavanaugh, the president's pick for the open Supreme Court seat, met on Capitol Hill with the vice president and senators yesterday.
The NFL Players Association is challenging the anti-kneeling policy, which requires players to remain in the locker room if they choose to protest the national anthem.
Hurricane Chris makes its way up the East Coast, but shouldn't make a major impact on land.
Cheddar Big News' Jill Wagner gives us the details.
