White House Will Preview Mueller Evidence Before Nadler Review: Admin Officials

The chairman hailed his deal with DOJ. But the situation may be more complicated than it looks.

Betsy Woodruff
Political Reporter
Updated 06.11.19 5:18PM ET Published 06.11.19 1:07PM ET

When House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) announced on Monday that he had reached an agreement with the Justice Department to view some of the underlying evidence behind Special Counsel’s Robert Mueller’s report. The announcement was hailed as a major breakthrough for the Democratic Party’s oversight efforts. But Nadler may get less than expected.

Department to decide what exactly the committee gets to see, two senior administration officials told The Daily Beast. And, so far, the White House has not waived executive privilege regarding any of Mueller’s materials, the two officials said.

Neither official would discuss if the White House plans to use executive privilege to limit Nadler’s access to documents. But, thus far, the administration has pushed back against many congressional oversight efforts. And Trump’s personal lawyers sued to try to block banks from sharing some of the president’s financial information with the House Financial Services Committee. Democrats say the administration is engaged in unprecedented stonewalling efforts. Most notably, the White House ordered former White House Counsel Don McGahn––a star witness in the Mueller report––to defy a subpoena from the House Judiciary Committee. McGahn has followed the president’s orders, frustrating Nadler’s efforts to create an on-camera discussion by a first-person witness of the president’s efforts to curb Mueller’s work.

The deal reached on Monday still gives Congress expanded access to Mueller’s work. All the members of the House Judiciary Committee, as well as some committee staff, will be able to read some evidence at Justice Department headquarters in downtown D.C. They will be able to take notes on what they read, and they will be able to take those notes with them when they leave the building.

Nadler’s efforts to view Mueller’s underlying evidence––including notes from FBI interviews of witnesses––come as many members of the restive House Democratic caucus are eager to see their leadership investigate and confront Trump more aggressively. Dozens of members have called on House Leadership to open an impeachment inquiry, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has resolutely opposed any such move.

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