When it was revealed after two years of investigation that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s final report was a dud that wouldn’t result in the impeachment of President Donald Trump, the House Judiciary Committee led by Jerry Nadler (D-NY) shifted gears and demanded that all of the secret grand jury materials compiled during Mueller’s probe be turned over in hopes that impeachable offenses would be found.
The committee filed a petition in court requesting complete access to the unredacted grand jury materials, but a stunning counterargument filed by Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys in opposition to that request not only destroyed the entire premise of Nadler’s request, it also used quotes from Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to do so.
Document dispute
Justice Department attorneys argued in their filing that the Nadler-led committee should not be given access to the secret grand jury materials for several reasons, but particularly in light of the fact that House Democrats themselves couldn’t even agree on why such material was needed or how it would be used.
The position put forward by the committee was that the grand jury materials were needed in order for the committee to determine whether or not to move forward with official impeachment proceedings, which in its view qualified as a “judicial proceeding” for which grand jury materials could legally be released.
The DOJ lawyers countered by contending at length in their 46-page filing that impeachment proceedings were not the same as “judicial proceedings,” and even if they were, the committee had yet to actually head down the impeachment road just yet, much less show a “particularized need” for the secret grand jury materials.
Not a judicial proceeding
Ironically, the DOJ attorneys cited remarks from Speaker Pelosi to undermine Nadler’s claim of an ongoing impeachment proceeding requiring and permitting the release of the secret grand jury materials.
“The Committee’s own description of its investigation makes clear that it is too far removed from any potential judicial proceeding to qualify,” the DOJ lawyers wrote in the introduction to their response to Nadler’s request.
“As the Committee’s Chairman has stressed — and as the Speaker of the House and the House Majority Leader both reiterated this week — the purpose of its investigation is to assess numerous possible remedial measures, including censure, articles of impeachment, legislation, Constitutional amendments, and more.”
Words coming back to haunt them
Later in the DOJ filing, in a section meant to address the semantic games Democrats such as Nadler were playing with regard to “impeachment proceedings,” the DOJ lawyers more specifically quoted Pelosi to weaken those claims.
“Most prominently, the Speaker of the House has been emphatic that the investigation is not a true impeachment proceeding. On the same day the House adopted the resolution that the Committee claims authorized this suit, the Speaker told a reporter the House Democrat caucus was ‘not even close’ to an ‘impeachment inquiry,'” the DOJ noted.
“More recently, she has said, ‘I do know that we’ve been on a path of investigation and that includes the possibility of legislation or impeachment,'” the attorneys added, and threw in a quote from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer for good measure. “And the House Majority Leader had even explained that branding the Committee’s proceeding as ‘impeachment’ is a simply a device to enhance the Committee’s legal arguments in this and other courts.”
In other words, despite Nadler’s assertions to the contrary, House Democrats aren’t officially impeaching President Trump yet, and even if they were, they still wouldn’t qualify for an exemption to the rules governing the secrecy of grand jury materials. The fact that the DOJ attorneys utilized quotes from Nadler’s superiors in the House to help make that case only served as hilariously ironic icing on this particular cake.
879 Responses
Very informative blog post.Thanks Again. Fantastic.
This website was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something that helped me. Kudos!
Good day! I simply want to give you a big thumbs up for your excellent information you have here on this post. I’ll be returning to your website for more soon.
After looking over a few of the articles on your site, I honestly appreciate your technique of writing a blog. I book marked it to my bookmark site list and will be checking back soon. Take a look at my website too and let me know your opinion.
Hey there! I simply would like to give you a huge thumbs up for your excellent info you have here on this post. I’ll be coming back to your website for more soon.
Hello there! I just wish to offer you a huge thumbs up for the great information you’ve got right here on this post. I will be coming back to your web site for more soon.
Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular article! It is the little changes which will make the largest changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!
I was able to find good info from your blog articles.
Saved as a favorite, I love your site!
Having read this I thought it was extremely enlightening. I appreciate you finding the time and effort to put this content together. I once again find myself personally spending a lot of time both reading and leaving comments. But so what, it was still worthwhile!
Hello there! I could have sworn I’ve visited this web site before but after going through some of the articles I realized it’s new to me. Anyhow, I’m definitely pleased I found it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back regularly!
I couldn’t refrain from commenting. Very well written!
Oh my goodness! Awesome article dude! Thank you so much, However I am going through troubles with your RSS. I don’t understand why I cannot join it. Is there anybody else having similar RSS problems? Anyone that knows the answer can you kindly respond? Thanx!!
Hi there, I do think your site may be having web browser compatibility problems. When I take a look at your web site in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping issues. I simply wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other than that, wonderful site!
When I originally left a comment I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on every time a comment is added I recieve 4 emails with the exact same comment. Perhaps there is a way you can remove me from that service? Thanks a lot!
I really enjoy the blog article.Thanks Again. Awesome.
Right here is the perfect webpage for everyone who really wants to understand this topic. You understand a whole lot its almost hard to argue with you (not that I really will need to…HaHa). You definitely put a brand new spin on a subject that has been discussed for many years. Excellent stuff, just great!
Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular post! It is the little changes which will make the most important changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!
This is the perfect website for anyone who would like to find out about this topic. You understand a whole lot its almost tough to argue with you (not that I personally would want to…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a subject that has been discussed for years. Great stuff, just excellent!
Enjoyed every bit of your blog article.Much thanks again. Much obliged.
It’s hard to find well-informed people in this particular subject, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
Appreciate you sharing, great article.Really thank you! Really Cool.
Hello, There’s no doubt that your site could possibly be having web browser compatibility issues. Whenever I look at your site in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in I.E., it’s got some overlapping issues. I merely wanted to give you a quick heads up! Besides that, wonderful site!
That is a very good tip particularly to those fresh to the blogosphere. Simple but very accurate info… Thanks for sharing this one. A must read post!
You’re so interesting! I don’t think I’ve read through anything like that before. So good to find somebody with some genuine thoughts on this topic. Really.. thanks for starting this up. This website is one thing that’s needed on the web, someone with a bit of originality!
I want to to thank you for this good read!! I definitely loved every bit of it. I have you book-marked to look at new stuff you post…
After looking at a handful of the articles on your website, I seriously like your way of blogging. I saved as a favorite it to my bookmark website list and will be checking back in the near future. Please check out my website as well and let me know your opinion.
Major thanks for the blog.Thanks Again. Really Great.
I was excited to uncover this great site. I wanted to thank you for your time for this wonderful read!! I definitely really liked every bit of it and I have you book-marked to check out new stuff in your site.
Hello there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after going through many of the posts I realized it’s new to me. Nonetheless, I’m certainly happy I stumbled upon it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back regularly!
I blog frequently and I truly appreciate your information. This great article has truly peaked my interest. I will book mark your blog and keep checking for new details about once per week. I opted in for your RSS feed too.
Major thanks for the blog article. Much obliged.
May I just say what a relief to discover somebody that actually knows what they’re discussing on the web. You definitely know how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More people must check this out and understand this side of the story. I can’t believe you are not more popular given that you definitely possess the gift.
Good post. I learn something new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon on a daily basis. It will always be useful to read content from other writers and practice a little something from other websites.
An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a friend who was doing a little homework on this. And he in fact ordered me lunch because I found it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending the time to discuss this topic here on your blog.
Great site you have here.. It’s hard to find high quality writing like yours nowadays. I honestly appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!
Im thankful for the blog.Really thank you! Will read on…
Hi there, I think your site could be having web browser compatibility problems. Whenever I take a look at your website in Safari, it looks fine however when opening in IE, it has some overlapping issues. I simply wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other than that, excellent site!
Thanks again for the blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Fantastic.
The very next time I read a blog, Hopefully it doesn’t disappoint me just as much as this particular one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, nonetheless I truly thought you’d have something useful to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of moaning about something you could fix if you were not too busy searching for attention.