U.S. Judge grants House request for material blacked out of Mueller report

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A U.S. federal judge on Friday handed a major victory to house Democrats, ordering the Trump administration to hand over an unredacted copy of Robert Mueller's report into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The judge also ruled that the impeachment inquiry into President Trump is legal, and that the House of Representatives does not need to approve a formal resolution to initiate its impeachment efforts.

The ruling is a major blow to President Trump and his allies, who have said that the impeachment inquiry is a sham and a witch hunt.

The Justice Department has until next Wednesday to provide the blacked-out material from the Mueller report that was subpoenaed by the House Judiciary Committee.

Democrats sought access to that material as part of their efforts to remove Trump from office.

The judge wrote that the Justice Department and the White House have "been openly stonewalling the House's efforts to get information by subpoena and by agreement, and the White House has flatly stated that the administration will not cooperate with congressional requests for information."

The Justice Department had argued the redacted material contained information about grand jury proceedings that was required to be kept secret.

But the judge said the House's need for the material in the impeachment inquiry outweighed the need for continued secrecy.

There was no immediate reaction from the Trump administration, and the Justice Department says it is reviewing the ruling.