Judge Certifies House Investigation Is a Legitimate Impeachment Inquiry – and Says ‘DOJ Is Wrong’
The Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Friday afternoon ordered the Department of Justice to hand over the unredacted Mueller report and underlying materials requested by the House Judiciary Committee months ago. The 75-page ruling by Judge Beryl Howell (photo) is a being called a “stunning rebuke” to the DOJ that is leaving some experts surprised and even somewhat shocked.
The ruling also destroys the fallacious argument made by President Trump and Republicans that the House impeachment inquiry is not an actual impeachment. Judge Howell says it absolutely is. Republicans, including administration officials, have refused to respond to requests by the House for documents, and even subpoenas commanding testimony, claiming because the full House did not vote on holding the impeachment inquiry it is, as some on the right claim falsely, a “witch hunt” that can be ignored.
They are wrong.
Judge Howell has successfully accomplished several things. She delivers effective explanations deriding the DOJ’s arguments, she effectively certifies the House’s impeachment inquiry, and she shows just how amateur – or inept – the Barr DOJ has become.
Experts are taking to Twitter, citing passages of Judge Howell’s scathing ruling.
Marcy Wheeler, a journalist and expert on civil liberties and national security offered this excellent insight:
Here Wheeler mentions a ruling cited by the judge, saying Howell is going to use it to “invoke as much pain on DOJ … as she can.”
But this might be Wheeler’s best comment: Judge Howell “goes all School House Rock on DOJ, which apparently needs a basic lesson in American history.”
And here the judge suggests the the DOJ’s infamous opinion/memo that claims a sitting president cannot be indicted, is not valid. Wheeler’s comment certainly seems correct:
Politico reporter Kyle Cheney points to where Judge Howell blows up the GOP’s claim that the House impeachment inquiry is not valid. She calls the Republican talking points “cherry-picked and incomplete.”
NBC News’ Tom Winter points to where the judge explains that the needs of the House Judiciary Committee outweigh the DOJ’s claims of the need for secrecy:
Here, attorney Luppe B. Luppen, a noted commentator and a writer at Yahoo News, highlights this interesting comment from the judge: “…then-candidate Trump may have received advance information about Russia’s interference activities…”
National Observer reporter Caroline Orr calls Judge Howell’s ruling a “stunning rebuke” and notes Howell doesn’t mince words: “DOJ is wrong,” the judge writes.
Politico’s Andrew Desiderio sums it all up quite well: