WASHINGTON _ The Supreme Court came to the aid of President Donald Trump on Thursday by agreeing to hear his claim that the redacted parts of the Mueller report should not be seen or reviewed by the House Democrats who led the president's impeachment.
The court's decision, in a one-line order, means the public will not see _ prior to this year's presidential election _ all of the findings of the official investigation of Russian meddling into the 2016 election and the administration's possible obstruction of justice.
The justices voted to block the release of this information and said they would hear arguments in the fall over whether it would violate the principle of grand jury secrecy to give the material to the House.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., expressed disappointment with the delay, but predicted victory once the case is decided.
"President Trump and Attorney General (William) Barr are continuing to try to run out the clock on any and all accountability," Nadler said in a statement. "While I am confident their legal arguments will fail, it is now all the more important for the American people to hold the president accountable at the ballot box in November."
At issue is whether the House has a right to the grand jury's findings, or if release would violate the federal rules that shield a grand jury's findings.
When President Richard Nixon faced impeachment in the House, the Watergate grand jury investigation was shared with the House Judiciary Committee. Similarly, when President Bill Clinton faced impeachment over the Monica Lewinsky affair, the more than 400-page report compiled from the grand jury was sent to the House and immediately released to the public.
But Trump's Justice Department took a different view. Its lawyers insisted on redacting some parts of the report issued by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, and they went to court to fight House Democrats who sought to examine this material.
A federal judge and the U.S. court of appeals in Washington had rejected Trump's claims that releasing the material would violate the privacy of the grand jury.
In May, the high court issued a temporary order to block the release while the Justice Department lodged an appeal.
On Thursday, the court said it had agreed to hear the case, Department of Justice vs. House Judiciary Committee.
Still pending before the high court is Trump's bid to block demands from House Democrats and a New York grand jury that seek his tax returns and financial records. Trump lost in three lower courts, and the justices are expected to rule, probably next week, on his appeal.
