Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts paused a lower court order that would have forced the Justice Department to provide secret grand jury materials to Congress next week.
On Friday, the high court granted a request from the Trump administration to pause an appeals court decision requiring the Justice Department to provide grand jury documents to the Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee.
The order, signed by Roberts, gave the congressional committee until May 18 to file its response.
In the absence of the Supreme Court’s order, the DOJ would have been required to give lawmakers on Monday secret grand jury materials produced during special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
DOJ Solicitor General Noel Francisco placed the request on Thursday to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to weigh in on a case that would pose “substantial constitutional difficulties.” Additionally, the DOJ argued that breaching grand jury secrecy could have severe consequences for future witnesses wishing to testify.
In March, the D.C. Appeals Court issued a 2-1 decision saying the Democratic-led committee could have a valid interest in new articles of impeachment against President Trump should the grand jury testimony provide new information on whether or not the president tried to obstruct the Russia investigation.
“The Committee has repeatedly stated that if the grand jury materials reveal new evidence of impeachable offenses, the Committee may recommend new articles of impeachment,” wrote Judge Judith Rogers for the appeals court’s March decision.
Democrats hope the secret information provides a more detailed picture of the Trump administration’s actions during the inquiry.
In April 2019, Mueller released his long-awaited report on Russian interference, with redactions, showing his team did not find evidence of criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia. However, Mueller did find substantial evidence that Russian actors actively attempted to influence the election and laid out 10 instances of possible obstruction of justice.
U.S. Attorney John Durham, who was appointed by Attorney General William Barr, is looking into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation.
