The New York Times reports that the Department of Justice has reached an agreement with the House Judiciary Committee to provide evidence compiled and used by Robert Mueller in writing his report. The deal came just hours before a Judiciary Committee hearing to analyze the findings of the Mueller report and a day before the House is due to vote to authorize the committee to go to federal court to enforce the committee’s subpoenas.
In his statement regarding the agreement, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said the documents which will be provided will allow the committee to perform their “constitutional duties and decide how to respond to the allegations laid out against the President by the Special Counsel”. He expects the DOJ to begin sharing the documents today and stated both Democratic and Republican members of the committee will be able to view them privately.
Nadler explained via Twitter that the House will still vote tomorrow on the resolution to take legal action to enforce the subpoenas issued for McGahn and Barr that have been ignored. In his statement, the chairman said, “If the Department proceeds in good faith and we are able to obtain everything that we need, then there will be no need to take further steps. If important information is held back, then we will have no choice but to enforce our subpoena in court and consider other remedies.”
It is unclear exactly which materials will be turned over to the committee as a result of this agreement. In a May 24 letter from Nadler to Barr, Nadler had requested contemporaneous notes, memos, and FBI notes of witness interviews which would shed light on possible obstruction of justice by President Trump.
Notes taken by Annie Donaldson, McGahn’s chief of staff, and Joseph Hunt, former AG Jeff Sessions chief of staff, were requested as well as a draft of a letter regarding the firing of FBI director James Comey and a White House memo on the firing of then national security adviser Michael Flynn. Summaries from FBI interviews with Jeff Sessions, John Kelly, Michael Cohen, Annie Donaldson, Hope Hicks, and Reince Priebus were also requested by the committee.
The Judiciary Committee’s top Republican, Representative Doug Collins of Georgia, welcomed the deal saying, “The Justice Department has yet again offered accommodations to House Democrats, and I am glad Chairman Nadler — for the first time in months — has finally met them at the negotiating table.” He continued, “Today’s good faith provision from the administration further debunks claims that the White House is stonewalling Congress.”
Tuesday’s floor vote would authorize the Judiciary Committee to hold Barr in civil contempt and enable them to sue him for failing to provide the documents listed in the subpoena. The resolution, if it passes as expected, would allow Democratic committee chairs, including Nadler, to go to court to enforce existing or future subpoenas without requiring a House vote for each subpoena, according to Politico.
