WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives filed a federal lawsuit Friday seeking grand-jury evidence that contributed to former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, a key chairman announced.

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said the evidence is necessary for Congress to investigate potential obstruction of justice and abuse of power by President Donald Trump.

“No one can be above the law, not even President Trump,” said Nadler, flanked at a Capitol news conference by other Democrats on the panel.

Trump has repeatedly dismissed the Mueller inquiry and its resulting congressional probes as an unjustified witch hunt and partisan harassment. 

Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, the top Republican on the committee, said House Democrats have no right to the grand-jury material, particularly under a recent decision by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that ruled judges lack the authority to grant access to the evidence.

“Chairman Nadler’s legal action here is sure to fail, weakening Congress’ ability to conduct oversight now and into the future,” Collins said. “Democrats want to convince their base they’re still wedded to impeachment even after this week’s hearing, but a baseless legal claim is an odd way to show that.”

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Grand-jury evidence is typically confidential when it doesn’t lead to criminal charges. Attorney General William Barr blacked out portions of Mueller’s 448-page report that dealt with grand-jury evidence. But a federal court could potentially order the release to Congress of the evidence, as happened during investigations of former presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.

Nadler said the evidence will cover elements of Mueller’s investigation which didn’t yield charges, such as a former Trump campaign manager providing polling information to Russians or payments to the president that appeared to violate the emoluments clauses of the Constitution.