The US House told a federal appeals court on Monday that it still needs access to confidential grand jury information from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation for use in the current impeachment proceedings.
Some of the still-secret information may have to do with Ukraine, the House argued in a court filing with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The grand jury information allegedly contains “certain redacted materials [that] pertain to a Trump Campaign member’s dealings with Ukraine, and bear on whether the President committed impeachable offenses by soliciting Ukrainian interference in the 2020 Presidential election,” the House wrote on Monday.
The Justice Department is still attempting to block the House’s request for the grand jury material, after a lower-level judge sided with the House.
“The withheld material is needed to evaluate President Trump’s solicitation of an announcement by Ukraine that it was launching an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden, President Trump’s political rival, and into alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. Understanding the circumstances surrounding President Trump’s solicitation of those investigations is vital to informing the consideration of the Articles of Impeachment,” the House said.
“The need for the withheld material grows more urgent by the day,” the House wrote. The House says the material, which apparently includes information collected about the Trump campaign’s interest in WikiLeaks in 2016, is “bearing on the impeachment of President Trump” and whether Trump obstructed Mueller with his written answers to questions about WikiLeaks. Trump’s written answers prompted newfound public scrutiny this November after the Justice Department released witness memos from the Mueller investigation that appear to have contradicted his answers. Witness Rick Gates also testified in court last month to a conversation he overheard between Trump and Roger Stone in 2016.
The appeals court is scheduled to hear oral arguments early next month.
