Chief Justice John Roberts pauses order requiring Trump administration to turn over Mueller docs to Congress

Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday paused a lower court order that would have required the Trump administration to turn over to Congress secretive materials produced in connection with former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. 

The order is procedural and was not opposed by the Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee, which is expected to ask the Supreme Court to ultimately require the Department of Justice to hand over the documents.

Roberts’ action comes one day after the Trump administration asked the top court to temporarily halt a March ruling by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordering the Justice Department to hand over Mueller’s grand jury materials.

Without Roberts’ order, Solicitor General Noel Francisco said the Justice Department would have had to turn over the records on Monday. 

Grand jury materials, which are generally protected from disclosure, can be ordered released by a court in connection with judicial proceedings. House Democrats successfully argued before a panel of the D.C. federal appeals court that an impeachment trial qualifies as judicial proceeding. 

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/08/chief-justice-pauses-order-requiring-trump-admin-to-turn-over-mueller-docs.html