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![handle is hein.presidents/usgvtwht0333 and id is 1 raw text is:
DOUGLAS N. LETTER BROOKS M. HANNER
GENERAL COUNSEL ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL
TODD B. TATELMAN U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ADAM A. GROGG
PRINCIPALDEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL
MEGAN BARBERO 219 CANNON HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING SARAH E. CLOUSE
DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL
WASHINGTON, DC 20515-6532
JOSEPHINE MORSE (202) 225-9700 WILLIAM E. HAVEMANN
DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL FAX: (202) 226-1360 ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL
JONATHAN B. SCHWARTZ
ATTORNEY
January 28, 2020
By CM/ECF
Mark Langer
Clerk of Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
333 Constitution Ave. N.W.
Room 5205
Washington, D.C. 20001
Re: In Re Application of the Committee on the Judiiag, U.S. House of Representatives, for an
Order Authoring the Release of Certain GrandJug MaterIals, No. 19-5288
Pursuant to Rule 280), we write to inform the Court of statements made by
President Trump's attorney during the Senate impeachment trial that contradict
DOJ's principal argument in this case.
During the Senate impeachment trial, one of President Trump's attorneys
opened his remarks by informing the Senators that they do not sit as jurors. He then
stated: Rather, the Senate is a court. In fact, history teaches us that for literally
decades, this body was referred to in this context as the high court of impeachment.
So we are not a legislative chamber during these proceedings. We are in a tribunal.
We are in court. 166 Cong. Rec. S580 (daily ed. Jan. 27, 2020) (statement of
Kenneth Starr).
DOJ's principal argument in this case is that a Senate impeachment trial is not a
judicial proceeding under Rule 6(e) because the Rule refers to proceedings in court.
See, e.g., Br. for Appellant at 21 (Dec. 2, 2019) (Rule 6(e) refers to a proceeding
occurring before a court); DOJ 28(j) Letter at 1 Uan. 4, 2020) ([T]he Rule's text and
structure demonstrate that it requires proceedings before a court, not the Senate.).
That argument has now been contradicted by the President's counsel's statements to
the Senate, which confirm that the Senate sits as a court rather than a legislative
chamber during an impeachment trial. Because DOJ's position in this case cannot
be reconciled with President's position in the impeachment, DOJ may wish to](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.presidents/usgvtwht0333&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)