Judge hands Democrats a victory in impeachment inquiry

A judge on Friday ordered the Justice Department to give the House secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, handing a victory to Democrats who want it for the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.

In a ruling that also affirmed the legality of the impeachment inquiry itself, Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ordered the department to turn over the materials by Oct. 30. A Justice Department spokeswoman said it was reviewing the decision.

The ruling comes as Democrats gather testimony about the Trump administration's efforts to get Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden and the Democrats.

The Mueller materials could reveal previously hidden details to lawmakers about Trump's actions during the 2016 election and become part of the impeachment push.

The material covered by Howell's order consists of redacted grand jury material mentioned in Mueller's report. The Justice Department says that information is the only piece of the document that key lawmakers have not had access to.

In a 75-page ruling accompanying the order, Howell slashed through many of the administration's arguments for withholding materials from Congress, including that there was need to keep the information secret even though the investigation had ended.

While the Justice Department said it could not provide grand jury material under existing law, "DOJ is wrong," she wrote.

And though the White House and its Republican allies argued impeachment is illegitimate without a formal vote, she wrote: "A House resolution has never, in fact, been required."