House Democrats kick off the process to hold AG Barr in contempt of Congress for not turning over documents in the Mueller probe

Reuters

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler.

• The House Judiciary Committee began a formal process to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress on Monday for failing to turn over documents related to the special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
• The Democratic-led committee will vote on a resolution Wednesday to hold Barr in contempt. If the resolution passes a committee vote, it will move to the full floor of the House of Representatives for a final vote.
• If the measure is approved by the full House, lawmakers will begin the legal process to hold Barr in contempt.

Lawmakers began a formal process Monday to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over documents related to the special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

The House Judiciary Committee announced that it will vote on Wednesday to advance a contempt resolution against Barr. If the committee approves the resolution - which it is expected to - the measure will move to the floor of the House of Representatives for a full vote to authorize legal proceedings against Barr.

House Democrats and the Justice Department have been engaged in a protracted tug-of-war over the Mueller report since the special counsel first submitted his findings to the DOJ in March.

After releasing an initial summary laying out his "principal conclusions" on the Mueller report, Barr told Congress he would not release a full version of Mueller's report because the document contained sensitive material and grand jury information that had to be redacted according to US law.

But Democrats are pushing for an un-redacted copy of Mueller's report, arguing that Barr could obtain a judge's permission to release it to Congress with minimal or no redactions.

The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the DOJ for the full Mueller report and its underlying evidence last month. The initial deadline for Barr to turn over the documents was May 1, which he missed.

On May 3, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler sent a letter to the attorney general requesting that the DOJ reconsider its refusal to allow all members of Congress - and some of their staffers - to view redacted portions of the report in a secure location, not including grand jury information.

Nadler also asked the DOJ to work with Congress to obtain a court order allowing the release of grand jury information. The DOJ did not agree to Nadler's requests.

"Even in redacted form, the Special Counsel's report offers disturbing evidence and analysis that President Trump engaged in obstruction of justice at the highest levels," Nadler said in a statement Monday. "Congress must see the full report and underlying evidence to determine how to best move forward with oversight, legislation, and other constitutional responsibilities.

"The Attorney General's failure to comply with our subpoena, after extensive accommodation efforts, leaves us no choice but to initiate contempt proceedings in order to enforce the subpoena and access the full, unredacted report," the statement continued. "If the Department presents us with a good faith offer for access to the full report and the underlying evidence, I reserve the right to postpone these proceedings."