Take a bow, Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Your language on Rep. Jerry Nadler’s “impeachment inquiry” — which is at both times the same thing as real impeachment and not real impeachment is — now being used by the Department of Justice to keep “Mueller’s secret files” out of the hands of other Dems:
This is exactly what House Dems feared — that the inconsistent messaging on impeachment could undermine their central claim to Mueller’s secret files.
Our story:https://t.co/8tSSLYHKAhhttps://t.co/IAEKrZIvx2
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) September 13, 2019
From Politico:
In a new court filing on Friday, Justice Department lawyers argued that the House Judiciary Committee’s effort to obtain former special counsel Robert Mueller’s most sensitive secrets — evidence and testimony collected by a grand jury — should be denied, in part because House Democrats can’t agree on what to call their investigation.
“Most prominently, the speaker of the House has been emphatic that the investigation is not a true impeachment proceeding,” the lawyers wrote, citing Pelosi’s June statement that Democrats were “not even close” to such a move.
House Democrats’ attempt to access Mueller’s grand-jury information hinges on the courts acknowledging that they are conducting an impeachment investigation. The Judiciary Committee argued in late July that their impeachment investigation satisfies one of the exceptions to federal grand jury secrecy rules: that the House is engaged in an “impeachment investigation” and therefore is taking an action preliminary to a “judicial proceeding” — the Senate’s trial on whether to remove Trump from office.
And here are highlights from the 40-page DOJ brief:
BREAKING: DOJ has filed a 40-page brief arguing that the Judiciary Committee's "impeachment investigation" really isn't one. Cites Pelosi and Hoyer's statements form *yesterday* as evidence.
Story w/ @AndrewDesiderio TK pic.twitter.com/4nPA246NV4
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) September 13, 2019
Rep. Jerry Nadler is at fault, too:
They also note that Nadler himself insisted as recently as late July that his committee was not conducting an impeahcment inquiry because of the various possible outcomes. pic.twitter.com/oRrDDq3SvU
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) September 13, 2019
It’s going to be lit:
DOJ goes even further to say that Nixon-era precedents don't suggest Congress has a right to grand jury material under a "judicial proceeding" exemption.
Even House Republicans have argued that the Senate removal trial is a judicial proceeding — so this goes way beyond that. pic.twitter.com/yjqVuA9qtG
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) September 13, 2019
But wait, there’s more!
DOJ also notes that the Judiciary Committee initially said the grand jury material was crucial so it could interview McGahn effectively.
But then Nadler said this week that he didn't require McGahn's testimony to fully consider impeachment. pic.twitter.com/OejnMvqXLR
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) September 13, 2019
You can read the entire filing here:
The full filing: https://t.co/dbLPHGJOzm
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) September 13, 2019
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Related:
'These people are insane': Nancy Pelosi ties herself into quite the pretzel to paint Dem Dan McCready's NC-09 loss as a win https://t.co/FSmrkHRP6E
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) September 12, 2019
Nancy Pelosi just got 'testy' with reporters who kept asking her about Rep. Nadler's impeachment inquiry https://t.co/sdkeHzHJRl
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) September 12, 2019
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