In a stunning move Attorney General Bill Barr's Dept of Justice late Friday afternoon filed a 40-page brief with a federal court, declaring the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment inquiry is not an impeachment inquiry, in an attempt to block release of files related to the Mueller probe.
It appears to be an unprecedented act, in which the top law enforcement agency is attempting to block Congress from carrying out its constitutional duties.
The DOJ is attempting to block the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's grand jury files, according to Politico. House Democrats have frequently said they cannot make an impeachment decision without the underlying materials from Mueller's exhaustive investigation.
Politico's Kyle Cheney and Andrew Desiderio broke the story, heralding the developments via Twitter:
BREAKING: DOJ has filed a 40-page brief arguing that the Judiciary Committee's "impeachment investigation" really i… https://t.co/jgzYvgypyX— Kyle Cheney (@Kyle Cheney) 1568413568.0
This is really bad for House Dems. DOJ has already seized on their inconsistent and head-spinning messaging on impe… https://t.co/H6I2gxPzkI— Andrew Desiderio (@Andrew Desiderio) 1568414000.0
UPDATE:
@AndrewDesiderio They also note that Nadler himself insisted as recently as late July that his committee was not co… https://t.co/ycxYoHKFBJ— Kyle Cheney (@Kyle Cheney) 1568413936.0
@AndrewDesiderio DOJ goes even further to say that Nixon-era precedents don't suggest Congress has a right to grand… https://t.co/jwfVsF7ljV— Kyle Cheney (@Kyle Cheney) 1568414500.0
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