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In a new dramatic escalation in the ongoing battle between House Democrats and the Trump government, the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday assigned the Department of Justice to the full and unredacted report of Robert Mueller's Special Council and to the underlying evidence.
The summons comes hours after the House Judiciary Committee voted to have Attorney General William Barr convicted of contempt of Congress for not providing the same documents. Republicans said the report contained sensitive information about the grand jury that needed to be drafted by law, at least for now.
The intelligence committee's summons apparently forces Barr to produce the documents by May 15.
House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and the Committee's chief Republican, California's Devin Nunes, have called for the Mueller report, which has not been updated for several weeks.
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Schiff said in a statement that the Justice Ministry "repeatedly failed to respond, refused to schedule any testimony and provided no documentation in connection with our legitimate and properly authorized surveillance activities".
House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, of Calif., Travels in March for a Democratic caucus meeting in Washington. Schiff, at the center of Republican anger after Mueller, said Mueller's finding would not affect the counterintelligence investigations of his own committee. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)
"As the Special Advocate and the Department of Justice have acknowledged, the Congress plays a vital constitutional role in assessing misconduct by the executive branch, including the Speaker, as well as for evaluate and refine the laws that deal with the "systematic and systematic" invasion of our government. democracy by Russia, "said Schiff. So we need these materials to do our job.
"The walls of the ministry are simply unacceptable."
Schiff concluded: "The Ministry repeatedly stresses the importance of a meaningful accommodation process, but it has responded to our efforts only with a silence or a Today, we have no choice but to issue a subpoena to compel them to comply – the ministry continues to ignore or reject our requests, we will enforce our request to Congress and, if necessary, to the courts. "
At the same time, New York Democrat Representative Jerrold Nadler, who chairs the Judiciary Committee of the House, said that the entire House would vote soon on the panel's recommendation to condemn Barr in contempt.
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The committee's vote of 24-16 on contempt for Barr was in line with the parties and after hours of debate. Before the vote, the White House invoked the privilege of the executive, claiming the right to prevent lawmakers from seeing the complete document.
Nadler called the executive privilege claim an "assertion of tyrannical power by the president" that "can not stand".
Nadler further described the situation as a "constitutional crisis", although he did not explain what exactly happened and which would have nullified the existing constitutional guarantees and mechanisms. It was also difficult to know how Democrats in the House could impose a vote for contempt of court.
Justice spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said it was disappointing that members of Congress "chose to engage in such inappropriate political theories."
She added that Barr had made "extraordinary efforts" to inform Congress and the public about Mueller's work.
US Republican Jim Jordan, a member of the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives of the House of Representatives of the Judiciary, said Wednesday during an explosive hearing that Democrats were seeking to "destroy" Barr in order to derail the ongoing review by the Justice Department of misconduct intelligence community.
Jordan, R-Ohio, claimed that Barr was legally bound to hold back parts of Mueller's report on Russia's interference in US policy.
According to Jordan, the Democrats put Mr. Barr in an impossible position to win: he could either publish Mueller's complete report in violation of the law and the federal procedure, either retain the redactions and face contempt proceedings. biased.
"Bill Barr follows the law and what is his reward?" Jordan asked at the beginning of an audience on the opportunity to judge Barr in contempt of Congress. "Democrats will despise him."
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Barr was scheduled to testify before the House committee earlier this month, following his remarks to the Senate, but withdrew. This would have been called into question: Dems' insistence that the commission staff, rather than members of Congress, ask the questions. Jordan suggested that this hubbub was a cynical show designed to mask the intentions of the Democrats.
"I do not think today is about getting information," continued Jordan. "I do not think it's a matter of getting the Mueller's unedited report.I do not think last week's hearing was actually about questioning the prosecutor on the matter." Attorney General I think the goal is simply to try to destroy Bill Barr because the Democrats are nervous. " He will discover how and why this investigation was opened. "
Brooke Singman of Fox News, Mike Emanuel and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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