1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i UPDATE: Grand Jury Secrecy and Impeachment: Implications of D.C. Circuit Ruling on the Special Counsels Report Updated October 22, 2020 Update: After this Sidebar was originally published in March 2020, t
2、he Supreme Court agreed to review the D.C. Circuits decision, granting certiorari on the question of whether a Senate impeachment trial is a “judicial proceeding” under the relevant exception to grand jury secrecy in Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. In its High Court briefing, t
3、he Department of Justice (DOJ) reiterates its argument that a “judicial proceeding” is limited to “a proceeding before a judge in a court.” DOJ further asserts that interpreting Rule 6(e) to apply to legislative proceedings would create constitutional problems by improperly involving the judiciary i
4、n oversight of Congress and impeachment. The Committee, in response, maintains that an impeachment trial is and has always been understood as “judicial” and avers that DOJs position would create constitutional issues of its own by impeding Congresss impeachment power. The Committee also argues, in t