The Justice Department must release to congressional Democrats secret grand jury evidence lawmakers are seeking in ongoing investigations into President Trump, a federal appeals court in Washington ruled Tuesday.
The divided ruling, which can be appealed, is a victory for Democratic lawmakers in one of a set of separation-of-powers lawsuits filed before the House voted to impeach President Trump in December and before the Senate acquitted him in February.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld a lower court order that gives Congress access to certain secret material from Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
The 2-to-1 decision is unlikely to be the final word and does not mean the redacted material from Mueller’s final report will be immediately turned over to Congress. The ruling can be appealed to the full court or to the Supreme Court.
