House Democrats asked the Supreme Court to release the redacted grand jury testimony from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s completed Russia probe because their investigation into whether President Trump committed impeachable offenses is still underway.
The House Judiciary Committee said the secret grand jury testimony “is central” to its continuing inquiry into whether Trump obstructed justice.
“The Committee’s investigation did not cease with the conclusion of the impeachment trial,” the Democrats said in a court filing Monday. “If this material reveals new evidence supporting the conclusion that President Trump committed impeachable offenses that are not covered by the articles adopted by the House, the committee will proceed accordingly — including, if necessary, by considering whether to recommend new articles of impeachment.”
In the documents, written by House general counsel Douglas Letter, the Democrats are looking into whether “improper political influence” was exerted over Justice Department decisions made in the cases of Roger Stone and Michael Flynn — prosecutions initiated by the special counsel.
The Justice Department in February reversed a recommendation from former Mueller prosecutors that Stone, a longtime Trump ally, be sentenced to nine years in prison because it was too harsh.
Stone eventually was sentenced to three years in prison for lying to Congress and obstructing the Russia investigation.
The Justice Department moved earlier this month to dismiss the case against Flynn, the Trump administration’s former national security adviser, who had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contact with a Russian ambassador before Trump entered the White House.
Justice Department lawyers argued that newly released information raised concerns about prejudice during the FBI’s questioning of Flynn.
They said Flynn’s interview on Jan. 24, 2017, was “conducted without any legitimate investigative basis.”
The Supreme Court earlier this month granted an emergency request from the Justice Department to block the release of the grand jury materials after a federal appeals court ruled the documents should be turned over to the House.
Mueller’s report concluded that the investigation did not find evidence the campaign “conspired” with the Russian government during the 2016 election and that it could not make a judgment about obstruction of justice.