Department of Justice v. House Committee on the Judiciary

Last updated
United States Department of Justice v. Committee on the Judiciary of the United States House of Representatives
Seal of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.png
Court United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Full case nameIn re Application of the Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives, for an Order Authorizing the Release of Certain Grand Jury Materials — Committee on the Judiciary, United States House of Representatives v. United States Department of Justice
ArguedJanuary 3, 2020
DecidedMarch 10, 2020
Citation(s)19-1328; No. 19-5288
Case history
Prior historyApplication granted, In re Application of the Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives, for an Order Authorizing the Release of Certain Grand Jury Materials, [1] No. 1:19-gj-00048-BAH (D. D.C. 2019)
Court membership
Judge(s) sitting Judith W. Rogers, Thomas B. Griffith, Neomi Rao
Case opinions
MajorityRogers, joined by Griffith
ConcurrenceGriffith
DissentRao
Laws applied
Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure

Department of Justice v. House Committee on the Judiciary (2020), No. 19-1328 [2] (previously In re Application of the Committee on the Judiciary, No. 19-5288), was a court decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The case weighs whether a committee of the House of Representatives can assert the House's "sole power of impeachment" to subpoena materials gathered as part of a federal grand jury investigation which are ordinarily secret. Due to changes in the government by the time of the 2020 election, many of the aspects leading to the case has become unnecessary, and the Supreme Court ruled the case moot in orders released in July 2021.

Contents

Background

Robert Mueller had been appointed as Special Counsel by United States Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to investigate possible Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. The investigation ran from 2017 to 2019. During the investigation, Mueller assembled a grand jury empowered to subpoena documents, require witnesses to testify under oath, and issue indictments for targets of criminal charges if probable cause was found. Proceedings of the grand jury were kept in confidence.

Mueller delivered his final report, Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election , informally called the Mueller Report, to United States Attorney General William Barr on March 22, 2019. A heavily redacted version of the Mueller Report was released on April 18, 2019, which President Donald Trump stated later was due to executive privilege. [3] The redacted report omitted much of the grand jury proceedings. While Mueller's Report concluded there was no evidence of Russian interference, and while there was no conclusive evidence of any crime committed by Trump, it "does not exonerate him". [4]

The Mueller Report findings formed the basis for the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives to consider starting impeachment proceedings against President Trump. Mueller testified to several House committees on July 24, 2019, on details of the report, but still limited to what he could speak because of the President's claim of executive privilege. [5] [6]

On July 26, 2019, the House Judiciary Committee filed an application with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to release certain grand jury materials associated with Mulluer's investigation. [7] In October 2019, based on precedent established during the impeachment of Richard Nixon, the court granted the application. However, the Department of Justice immediately sought a stay for the subpoena. [1]

Case history

On December 13, 2019, the D.C. Circuit's panel of Judith W. Rogers, Thomas B. Griffith, and Neomi Rao ordered a briefing to address whether the House Judiciary Committee has Article III standing. [8]

On December 16, House General Counselor Douglas Letter filed a brief outlining the importance of obtaining the grand jury materials. [9] [10]

On December 18, the D.C. Circuit ordered the parties involved to file supplemental briefings by December 23, addressing whether articles of impeachment render the case moot and whether expedited consideration is still necessary. The D.C. Circuit also suggested the House Judiciary Committee address whether it still seeks the materials from Robert Mueller's grand jury. [11] [12]

On December 23, the House Judiciary Committee and Justice Department filed supplemental briefings explaining their positions on standing and mootness. [13]

The case was argued earlier before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on January 3, 2020. The case was heard by a panel of three Circuit Judges: Judith W. Rogers, Thomas B. Griffith, and Neomi Rao. [1]

On March 10, 2020, the court ruled 2–1 in favor of the Judiciary Committee, ordering the release of the grand jury materials; Judge Rogers wrote the opinion, and was joined by Judge Griffith, with Judge Rao dissenting. [14]

Supreme Court

Shortly before the deadline set by the Circuit Court for the production of the material, the Justice Department petitioned the Supreme Court to stay the ruling and review the case. The Supreme Court stayed the Circuit's mandate on May 8, 2020, and in June, the Justice Department filed a petition for a writ of certiorari which was opposed by the House Judiciary Committee. [15] On July 2, 2020, the Supreme Court granted the Justice Department request for a writ of certiorari appealing the decision of the Circuit Court, and scheduled arguments for December 2, 2020. [16] [17]

In late November 2020, the House requested that the Supreme Court postpone oral arguments until after the 117th United States Congress convenes and Joe Biden is inaugurated as president in January 2021, at which point the reconstituted Committee can determine if it still wishes to pursue the matter. The Supreme Court agreed to the delay, removing the oral hearings from the schedule. [18] Subsequently, the Supreme Court deemed the case moot in orders released on July 2, 2021, and ordered the Circuit court to vacate its decision, as per the Munsingwear vacatur.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Starr Report</i>

The Starr Report, officially the Referral from Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr in Conformity with the Requirement of Title 28, United States Code, Section 595(c), is a United States federal government report by Independent Counsel Ken Starr concerning his investigation of President Bill Clinton. Delivered to the United States Congress on September 9, 1998, the allegations in the report led to the impeachment of Bill Clinton and the five-year suspension of Clinton's law license.

Executive privilege is the right of the president of the United States and other members of the executive branch to maintain confidential communications under certain circumstances within the executive branch and to resist some subpoenas and other oversight by the legislative and judicial branches of government in pursuit of particular information or personnel relating to those confidential communications. The right comes into effect when revealing information would impair governmental functions. Neither executive privilege nor the oversight power of Congress is explicitly mentioned in the United States Constitution. However, the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that executive privilege and congressional oversight each are a consequence of the doctrine of the separation of powers, derived from the supremacy of each branch in its own area of Constitutional activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don McGahn</span> American government official

Donald Francis McGahn II is an American lawyer who served as White House Counsel for U.S. President Donald Trump, from the day of Trump's inauguration through October 17, 2018, when McGahn resigned. Previously, McGahn served on the Federal Election Commission for over five years. In November 2019, McGahn received a court order to testify before the U.S House of Representatives. In August 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 7–2 that the House can sue him to comply.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Efforts to impeach Donald Trump</span> Efforts to impeach the 21st-century US president

Various people and groups assert that former U.S. president Donald Trump engaged in impeachable activity both before and during his presidency, and talk of impeachment began before he took office. Grounds asserted for impeachment have included possible violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the Constitution by accepting payments from foreign dignitaries; alleged collusion with Russia during the campaign for the 2016 United States presidential election; alleged obstruction of justice with respect to investigation of the collusion claim; and accusations of "Associating the Presidency with White Nationalism, Neo-Nazism and Hatred", which formed the basis of a resolution for impeachment brought on December 6, 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Engel</span> American lawyer

Steven Andrew Engel is an American lawyer. He served as the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel in the Donald Trump administration. Engel, who previously worked in the George W. Bush administration as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel, was nominated by President Donald Trump on January 31, 2017, and confirmed on November 7, 2017. On January 20, 2021, he was succeeded by Christopher H. Schroeder, serving under the Biden Administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Boyd (attorney)</span> American lawyer

Stephen Elliott Boyd is an American lawyer who served as the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislative Affairs from 2017 to 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mueller special counsel investigation</span> US investigation into Russian interference in US elections

The Mueller special counsel investigation was an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, links between associates of Donald Trump and Russian officials, and possible obstruction of justice by Trump and his associates. The investigation was conducted by special prosecutor Robert Mueller from May 2017 to March 2019. It was also called the Russia investigation, the Mueller probe, and the Mueller investigation. The Mueller investigation culminated with the Mueller report, which concluded that though the Trump campaign welcomed Russian interference and expected to benefit from it, there was insufficient evidence of a criminal conspiracy to charge Trump. The report did not reach a conclusion about possible obstruction of justice of Trump, citing a Justice Department guideline that prohibits the federal indictment of a sitting president. The investigation resulted in charges against 34 individuals and 3 companies, 8 guilty pleas, and a conviction at trial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (January–June 2019)</span>

This is a timeline of events in the first half of 2019 related to investigations into links between associates of Donald Trump and Russian officials that are suspected of being inappropriate, relating to the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. It follows the timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, both before and after July 2016, until November 8, 2016, the transition, the first and second halves of 2017, the first and second halves of 2018, and followed by the second half of 2019, 2020, and 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tax returns of Donald Trump</span> Tax returns of Donald Trump

Donald Trump, President of the United States from January 2017 to January 2021, has controversially refused to release his tax returns since the 2015–2016 campaign for the presidency at the 2016 election. Though Trump promised to release the returns during his campaign, he repeatedly refused to release his tax return information throughout his presidency, the first major-party U.S. presidential candidate or president since 1976 to do so. Trump had repeatedly and falsely claimed that he could not release the returns while they were under audit by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It is IRS policy, but not law, to annually audit tax returns of presidents and vice presidents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mueller report</span> 2019 U.S. government report on Russian interference in the 2016 election

The Mueller report, officially titled Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election, is the official report documenting the findings and conclusions of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 United States presidential election, allegations of conspiracy or coordination between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia, and allegations of obstruction of justice. The report was submitted to Attorney General William Barr on March 22, 2019, and a redacted version of the 448-page report was publicly released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on April 18, 2019. It is divided into two volumes. The redactions from the report and its supporting material were placed under a temporary "protective assertion" of executive privilege by then-President Trump on May 8, 2019, preventing the material from being passed to Congress, despite earlier reassurance by Barr that Trump would not exert privilege.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump</span> First impeachment inquiry against U.S. President Donald Trump

The inquiry process which preceded the first impeachment of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States, was initiated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on September 24, 2019, after a whistleblower alleged that Donald Trump may have abused the power of the presidency. Trump was accused of withholding military aid as a means of pressuring newly elected president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to pursue investigations of Joe Biden and his son Hunter and to investigate a conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, was behind interference in the 2016 presidential election. More than a week after Trump had put a hold on the previously approved aid, he made these requests in a July 25 phone call with the Ukrainian president, which the whistleblower said was intended to help Trump's reelection bid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (July–December 2018)</span>

This is a timeline of major events in second half of 2018 related to the investigations into links between associates of Donald Trump and Russian officials that are suspected of being inappropriate, relating to the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. It follows the timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections before and after July 2016 up until election day November 8, and the transition, the first and second halves of 2017, and the first half of 2018, but precedes that of the first and second halves of 2019, 2020, and 2021. These events are related to, but distinct from, Russian interference in the 2018 United States elections.

Trump v. Mazars USA, LLP, 591 U.S. ___ (2020) was a landmark US Supreme Court case involving subpoenas issued by committees of the US House of Representatives to obtain the tax returns of President Donald Trump, who had litigated against his personal accounting firm to prevent this disclosure, although the committees had been cleared by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Mazars was consolidated with Trump v. Deutsche Bank AG.

<i>In re Grand Jury Subpoena</i> (2019)

In re Grand Jury Subpoena, No. 18-3071, 912 F.3d 623 (2019), was a United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit case involving an appeal by company owned by a foreign government that was ordered by a federal judge to pay a $50,000 fine per day until it complies with a grand jury's subpoena. The subpoena was conducted by the grand jury empaneled by Robert Mueller in the Special Counsel investigation.

<i>In re: Don McGahn</i> American lawsuit regarding checks and balances between the Executive and Legislative Branches

In re: Don McGahn is a U.S. constitutional case lawsuit (1:19-cv-02379) filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia by the House Judiciary Committee to compel the testimony of former White House Counsel Donald F. McGahn, Jr. under subpoena. McGahn was put under subpoena to testify regarding his knowledge of the Russia investigation and Mueller Report and whether President Donald Trump's actions could constitute obstruction of justice. The case gained importance as the House launched impeachment proceedings against Trump regarding the Trump–Ukraine scandal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (2020–2022)</span>

This is a timeline of events from 2020 to 2022 related to investigations into links between associates of Donald Trump and Russian officials that are suspected of being inappropriate, relating to the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. It follows the timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, both before and after July 2016, until November 8, 2016, election day, the transition, the first and second halves of 2017, the first and second halves of 2018, and the first and second halves of 2019.

Trump v. Vance, 591 U.S. ___ (2020), was a landmark US Supreme Court case arising from a subpoena issued in August 2019 by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. against Mazars, then-President Donald Trump's accounting firm, for Trump's tax records and related documents, as part of his ongoing investigation into the Stormy Daniels scandal. Trump commenced legal proceedings to prevent their release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (July–December 2019)</span>

This is a timeline of major events in second half of 2019 related to the investigations into links between associates of Donald Trump and Russian officials that are suspected of being inappropriate, relating to the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. It follows the timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections before and after July 2016 up until election day November 8, and the transition, the first and second halves of 2017, the first and second halves of 2018, and the first half of 2019, but precedes that of 2020 and 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal impeachment in the United States</span> Procedure of officially accusing a civil officer

Impeachment in the United States is the process by which the House of Representatives brings charges against a civil federal officer, the vice president, or the president for misconduct alleged to have been committed. The United States House of Representatives can impeach a party with a simple majority of the House members present or such other criteria as the House adopts in accordance with Article One, Section 2, Clause 5 of the United States Constitution. Most state legislatures can impeach state officials, including the governor, in accordance with their respective state constitution.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "House Judiciary Committee v. Department of Justice: Order to file briefs and schedule oral argument". U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. November 18, 2019. Document #1816378. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Docket for 19-1328". Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  3. ↑ Mangan, Dan (May 8, 2019). "Trump asserts 'executive privilege' over Mueller report in fight with House Democrats". CNBC . Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Main points of Mueller report". Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  5. ↑ Desiderio, Andrew; Cheney, Kyle (July 24, 2019). "Mueller refutes Trump's 'no collusion, no obstruction' line". Politico . Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  6. ↑ Gregorian, Dareh (July 24, 2019). "Mueller clarifies comments on whether he could indict Trump". NBC News . Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  7. ↑ Herb, Jeremy; Raju, Manu (July 3, 2020). "House Democrats escalate impeachment fight with suit to obtain Mueller grand jury information". CNN . Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  8. ↑ Sneed, Tierney (December 13, 2019). "Appeals Court Appears Unsure If House Can Sue To Get Mueller Grand Jury Docs". Talking Points Memo. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  9. ↑ Desiderio, Andrew; Cheney, Kyle (December 16, 2019). "House vows to continue impeachment probes regardless of Senate outcome". Politico. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  10. ↑ "In re: Application of the Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives, for an order authorizing the release of certain grand jury materials: Brief of the House Judiciary Committee" (PDF). United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. December 16, 2019. Document #1820307. Retrieved October 18, 2020– via Politico.
  11. ↑ Gerstein, Josh (December 18, 2019). "Appeals court wants answers on impact of impeachment". Politico. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  12. ↑ "House Judiciary Committee v. Department of Justice: Order to file supplemental briefs" (PDF). U.S. Court of Appeal for the D.C. Circuit. December 18, 2019. Document #1820783. Retrieved October 18, 2020– via Politico.
  13. ↑ Sneed, Tierney (December 23, 2019). "DOJ, House Weigh In On How Impeachment Affects Mueller Grand Jury Doc Case". Talking Points Memo. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  14. ↑ Legare, Robert; Quinn, Melissa (March 10, 2020). "Appeals court orders DOJ to turn over secret Mueller grand jury docs to Congress". CBS News. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  15. ↑ de Vogue, Ariane (May 8, 2020). "Roberts agrees to put lower court mandate on temporary hold in Mueller grand jury secrets case". CNN. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  16. ↑ "Certiorari – Summary Dispositions" (PDF). United States Supreme Court. July 2, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Supreme Court Docket No. 19-1328". September 6, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  18. ↑ Barnes, Robert (November 20, 2020). "Supreme Court postpones hearing on congressional effort to obtain secret Mueller material". The Washington Post . Retrieved December 2, 2020.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.