U.S. Supreme Court takes up Trump bid to withhold parts of Russia report
From WWW.REUTERS.COM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U. S. lawmakers are highly unlikely to gain access before the Nov. 3 election to material withheld from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian political meddling after the Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear President Donald Trump’s administration’s bid to keep it secret.
The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee last year subpoenaed grand jury materials related to the Mueller report, which documented Moscow’s interference in the 2016 presidential election to boost Trump’s candidacy. The Justice Department withheld the materials when the report was released.
The Supreme Court, which has a 5-4 conservative majority including two justices appointed by Trump, took up the administration’s appeal of a March ruling by the U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that the materials must be given to the Democratic-led committee
The justices will hear the case in their next term, which starts in October, meaning the dispute almost assuredly will not be resolved before the election in which the Republican president is seeking a second four-year term in office.
“I am disappointed by the court’s decision to prolong this case further, but I am confident we will prevail,” said Representative Jerrold Nadler, the committee’s chairman.
Nadler said Trump’s administration is trying to “run out the clock on any and all accountability” ahead of the election.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Should Trump’s Democratic opponent Joe Biden win November’s election, the incoming administration could seek to hand over the documents and the Supreme Court may not need to rule on the case.
Mueller submitted his report to U. S. Attorney General William Barr in March 2... (Read more)
Submitted 1387 days ago
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