Supreme Court Grants Trump Request to Block Disclosure of Mueller Materials
Ruling shields grand-jury materials while administration argues they should remain secret
WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court blocked Congress from receiving grand-jury materials from Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
The court, in a written order Wednesday, granted an emergency request by the Trump administration to keep the materials secret while it mounts a full high court appeal against their release.
The high court’s action increases the chances that the information will remain shielded through the 2020 election.
The Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee requested access to material that was redacted from the special counsel’s March 2019 report, as well as some of the exhibits and transcripts referenced in its pages. After the Justice Department declined to produce the information, the committee went to court seeking to compel its release, saying it needed the material to determine whether President Trump committed an impeachable offense in the course of the Mueller investigation.
The Supreme Court’s order for now blunts rulings by two lower courts that the material must be handed over. There is an exception to grand-jury secrecy for records needed in connection with a judicial proceeding; the lower courts said an impeachment probe qualifies for the exception.
The Mueller report found sweeping Russian interference in the 2016 campaign and contacts between Russia-linked entities and Trump campaign officials. It didn’t establish that anyone from the campaign conspired with Russia’s efforts.
Mr. Mueller declined to reach a conclusion on whether Mr. Trump unlawfully interfered with the investigation. Attorney General William Barr has said Mr. Trump’s actions didn’t amount to obstruction of justice, and the president has denied any wrongdoing.
In a brief filed with the Supreme Court, the Judiciary Committee said it needed the Mueller grand jury material for a continuing impeachment investigation into the president’s conduct in relation to the Russia probe. It told the court that it had procedures in place to protect the confidentiality of the material.
The Democratic-controlled House impeached Mr. Trump in December for his dealings with Ukraine, an issue that is separate from conduct investigated by the Mueller probe. The Republican-controlled Senate acquitted him in February.
The Justice Department argued that disclosure of the grand-jury materials would mean its secrecy would be irretrievably lost. For the grand-jury process to work, secrecy must be assured for witnesses to come forward and testify fully, the department said. It also said the committee hadn’t shown that the material was urgently needed “for a hypothetical second impeachment.”
The court’s action on the grand-jury materials isn’t a final ruling and came without full briefing or oral argument.
The case is separate from three other cases in which the justices are considering whether Mr. Trump’s bankers and accountants must turn over an array of his financial records to congressional investigators and New York prosecutors.
Rulings in those cases are expected this summer.