In his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday, Attorney General William Barr was asked if the committee could see notes he took during a phone call with special counsel Robert Mueller.
So, does Congress have a right to the notes between Barr and Mueller?
Facts first:In theory, Congress could get access to these notes, but it would likely take a subpoena, a possible criminal contempt citation, and years of court battles.
This all comes as Congress contemplates how to deal with the Justice Department’s denial of House Democrats’ request to hand over an unredacted version of the Mueller report, and whether to hold the attorney general in contempt over his refusal to appear before the House Judiciary Committee.
Given Barr’s answer Wednesday, alongside the administration’s lack of compliance with other congressional subpoenas, it’s unlikely that Barr would willingly give Congress his notes on his conversation with Mueller.
The next step for Congress would likely be issuing a subpoena. Each committee has their own rules on subpoenas, who can submit them and how. When it comes to the Senate Judiciary Committee, that power resides with chairman Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, who is unlikely to subpoena Barr for anything.
That leaves any subpoena up to chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, New York Democratic Rep.
