A federal judge ruled Friday that the Justice Department must hand over grand jury evidence from the Mueller investigation to the House Judiciary Committee by Oct. 30, citing the ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Trump, per CNBC.
Why it matters: Grand jury information is typically kept secret, but Judge Beryl Howell said in her opinion that the disclosures are in "the public’s interest in a diligent and thorough investigation into, and in a final determination about, potentially impeachable conduct by the President described in the Mueller Report.”
China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Friday that Vice President Pence's speech which criticized U.S. companies wary of disrespecting Chinese policies was "full of arrogance, prejudice, critical biases and lies," per NBC News.
The big picture: Hua added that Pence's speech, which also included words of support for pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong, was meant to "smear" China in an attempt to distract from U.S. domestic issues like gun control and economic inequality.
A federal investigation into the Trump-Russia probe — which is essentially looking into claims that the FBI's probe into President Trump's 2016 campaign was influenced by anti-Trump sentiments — has evolved into a full-fledged criminal inquiry, two people familiar with the matter said, per the New York Times.
Why it matters: The Justice Department's investigation now has the authority "to subpoena for witness testimony and documents, to impanel a grand jury and to file criminal charges," per the Times.
