House Intel, DOJ Strike Deal Over Counterintelligence Documents

The House Intelligence Committee struck a deal late Tuesday with the Justice Department to avoid a subpoena fight over classified documents related to the Mueller probe.

California Rep. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the panel, said that the Justice Department has agreed to turn over twelve categories of counterintelligence and foreign intelligence materials starting this week.

Stephen Boyd, the Justice Department’s congressional liaison, said in a letter that the agency would begin producing the documents contingent on Schiff tabling efforts to vote on any enforcement actions.

“To be clear should the Committee take the precipitous and unnecessary action of recommending a contempt finding or other enforcement action against the attorney general, then the Department will not likely be able to continue to work with the Committee to accommodate its interest in these materials,” Boyd wrote.

On May 8, Schiff subpoenaed the Justice Department for redacted materials in the special counsel’s report, including grand jury information. The subpoena also sought counterintelligence information that was not included in the lightly redacted report.

Schiff’s Republican counterpart, California Rep. Devin Nunes, also signed on to a letter on April 25 requesting counterintelligence materials from the special counsel’s probe, but did not join Schiff on the subpoena.

The Democrat and Republican likely have two separate agendas for wanting to see the information. Schiff hopes to find evidence that the Russian government has compromised President Trump or attempted to infiltrate the campaign. Nunes hopes the documents will shed light on the FBI’s handling of its investigation of Trump and his associates.

The special counsel’s report said that prosecutors were unable to establish that the Trump campaign conspired with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election. The report also said that there was not enough evidence to establish that any Trump associates acted as agents of the Russian government.