Brit Hume
Making grand jury information public would be a flagrant violation of the federal rules of criminal procedure, but you’d never know that from this story. And the Post bases the entire story on anonymous Democratic Congressional aide
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Ken Starr made nothing public. He was required to turn over his report to Congress under the independent counsel statute. Congress then made it public.
DEL
Correct. He turned it all over to congress. That is what congress is seeking now, no? There are plenty of cases where GJ info gets made public. The law is designed to protect the process. Judges order it released not infrequently.
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Brit Hume
The independent counsel statute required the report go to Congress, which was widely criticized for dumping it out in its entirety. The special counsel regs are different, and require only that the report be submitted to the AG, who is following DOJ procedures for GJ material.
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Del
All true. I am just saying that gj material has been made public in high-profile cases before. It is not an infrequent occurrence. Much different than releasing a FISA warrant, for example.
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The main point of GJ secrecy is to protect the process, not to keep the information secret forever. Defense gets a bunch, becomes public in some trials to impeach witnesses. If a witness dies, it can sometimes be made public
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Brit Hume
Don’t disagree. That does not mean Barr would not violate federal rule 6e if he dumped the Mueller report, grand jury info and all, into the public domain immediately, as Democrats demanded.
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Del
Correct. Federal prosecutors take 6e very seriously. But doj has turned over whole reports to congress before they contained GJ derived info. A judge can issue a ruling. It is rare but not unprecedented
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Texas Voter
Kenenth Starr did it.
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Brit Hume
No he didn’t. He sent it to Congress, which he was required to do under the independent counsel law. Congress then made it public.
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Michael
We know the AG can simply ask a court for permission to release grand jury material.
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Brit Hume
That is not nearly as simple as you suggest. See the research article at this link: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/LSB10201.pdf …
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Texas Voter
Thank you for sending this link. I always appreciate your fairness and respectful attitude on Twitter, which is rare here. Decency is underrated these days.
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Brit Hume
Thank you sir.
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Joser
Although true and I’ve been pushing back on many for a very long time calling for releasing docs and how/why it won’t happen.
Don’t worry about what’s being called for, calling Barr to the hill is going to go badly and all downside for Democrats.
I have a feeling it’s a mistake by Democrats calling Barr to the hill
1 It’s going to further prove Trump’s claim it was a hoax.
2 They will basically be arguing with Mueller except he won’t be there so it will look foolish giving Barr opportunity to frame narrative.
The Barr hearing could be the ultimate overreach the torpedo if you will, the one that sinks the collusion narrative and drags down Democrats also.
Barr could drop some lines worthy of an Academy Award and after it’s over the analysis of hearing will be damaging to Democrats.
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Harry Shannon
Grand jury evidence is always made public at trial. In the absence of a trial or charges, a Federal judge can order the FGJ proceedings be unsealed. The 6E rule is to protect the FGJ from interference while investigations are in progress, not to shield or protect the subject.
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Blossom
I’m afraid that’s not the case. In fact, grand jury information is secretive to the point that disclosing it without authorization can result in a prison sentence.
.........https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-09-02-9409020024-story.html
former grand juror who leaked secret details of several mob-related prosecutions was sentenced Thursday to the maximum 8 years and 1 month in prison by a federal judge who said he would have given him more if he could.
“I regard this as serious an offense as we’ve had in this building,” U.S. District Judge Marvin Aspen said as he sentenced Robert Girardi, who was a member of a special federal grand jury investigating organized crime.
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tucker dysinger
So would this be your reaction if bill clinton had just appointed a new ag near the end of starrs investigation. And then the ag decided he would just summaries it and not give anything else to congress
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Blossom
It takes someone incredibly deluded to believe that Barr could mischaracterize the report while Mueller and his team are only a phone call away from every rabid television talking head that would love nothing more than to have them on their show to expose Barr as a liar.
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Blossom
A preliminary hearing may be open to the public but grand jury proceedings are held in secret. Current rules establish no reservations for Congressional access under the law.
https://fas.org/sgp/crs/secrecy/R45456.pdf …
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NIKK...I think this is a good discussion and wanted to share with ones here interested.
