Should the House Judiciary Committee Go to Federal Court to Enforce Mueller Report-related Subpoenas of AG Barr & Don McGahn? (H. Res. 430)

What is H. Res. 430?

(Updated January 14, 2022)

This resolution would authorize the House Judiciary Committee to initiate or intervene in judicial proceedings before a federal court to enforce subpoenas served to Attorney General William Barr and former White House Counsel Don McGahn related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report. It would also authorize the Judiciary Committee to ask for disclosure of related grand jury information under federal rule 6(e).

Additionally, the resolution would allow the chair of each committee to initiate or intervene in judicial proceedings in federal court on their committee’s behalf to seek compliance with a subpoena if they receive the authorization of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group.

As a simple resolution, this legislation wouldn’t advance beyond the House if it's adopted.

Argument in favor

The Trump administration is engaged in a cover up because it won’t provide the Judiciary Committee with an unredacted version of Special Counsel Mueller’s report that includes protected grand jury testimony. Former White House Counsel Don McGahn should be compelled to testify before Congress.

Argument opposed

This bill is nothing more than a partisan attempt to use the existence of grand jury testimony that’s required to remain private under federal law in an effort to undermine faith in Special Counsel Mueller’s report. The subpoena of former White House Counsel Don McGahn may eventually be quashed by federal courts.

Impact

House Committees, particularly the Judiciary Committee; Attorney General William Barr; former White House Counsel Don McGahn; and the Trump administration.

Cost of H. Res. 430

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-MA) introduced this resolution to authorize the Judiciary Committee to pursue the enforcement of subpoenas issued to Attorney General William Barr and former White House Counsel Don McGahn that are related to the report issued by Special Counsel Robert Mueller:

“We will not allow this president and his administration to turn a blind eye to the rule of law. The Trump administration is waging an unprecedented campaign of stonewalling and obstruction on issues the American people care about, including its attack on healthcare, its inhumane family separation policy, and the countless egregious examples laid out in the Mueller report. Enough is enough. This resolution will allow Congress to hold the president accountable while this Democratic Majority continues delivering on issues like healthcare and jobs.”

Barr was served with a subpoena seeking an unredacted version of the Mueller report after President Trump used executive privilege to block the release of redacted materials (protected 6(e) grand jury information and sources & methods). Trump also exercised executive privilege to prevent McGahn from testifying before Congress about the Mueller report.

The House Judiciary Committee voted to hold Attorney General Barr in contempt on a party-line 24-16 vote on May 8, 2019. House Democrats have indicated they may bring the contempt resolution to the floor in the near future if negotiations with the Dept. of Justice over lawmakers’ access to the unredacted Mueller report don’t yield an agreement.

This legislation has the support of six cosponsors, all of whom are Democratic committee chairs who would be empowered by the bill to seek enforcement of subpoenas in federal court. They include Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel (D-NY), Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA), Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA).

Media:

• House Rules Committee Democrats Press Release

• Countable (Context - Barr Contempt)

Summary by Eric Revell