Trump asks Supreme Court to block release of Mueller grand jury information

The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to temporarily block the release of documents from former special counsel Robert Mueller's grand jury to the House of Representatives.

The administration is asking the justices to freeze a lower court opinion that cleared the way for the release of the grand jury secrets to the House.


The court ruled in March that the House Judiciary Committee has a "compelling need" to view the secretive details prosecutors had collected from witnesses and about President Donald Trump.

"The government respectfully requests that this Court grant a stay of the court of appeals' mandate," solicitor general Noel Francisco wrote.

Francisco also asked the justices to block a lower court's May 11 deadline for the release of the documents to give the parties more time to file court papers.

The Justice Department notified the court that while the House is expected to oppose the administration's request to block the release of the documents,

It does support moving the current May 11 deadline by seven days out of respect for the court's schedule.

The administration had said last month that it planned to make the request to the high court.

Should the nine justices decide they want to hear the case, it could be months before it's resolved.

In April, when he unveiled new government guidelines on wearing face coverings, Trump acknowledged he was unlikely to follow them himself, saying he couldn't envision greeting "presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens" with his mouth and nose covered up.

"I don't see it for myself," he said.

Neither, apparently, did his aides, who often take the President's lead on their own behavior and messaging. Only a "few" staffers inside the West Wing regularly wear masks to work, officials say, and it's rare to spot officials in the building with their faces covered.

The White House official acknowledged there are not many staffers wearing masks around the office, but noted aides to the President are simply following the guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that masks are recommended but not mandatory.

"If White House staff were told to wear a mask, everybody would wear a mask," the official said, noting that health experts have said wearing a mask is useful for preventing people who are already infected from spreading the virus to others.

Still, the White House is behind the private sector in enforcing mask usage. When the President flew to Arizona on Tuesday -- his first foray from the East Coast in months -- neither he nor his aides wore masks on Air Force One, even though some commercial airlines have starting requiring passengers to wear them on flights. As he was departing the White House South Lawn, a large group of staffers gathered to see him off, all without masks.

Not all of the White House's various departments have operated the same. Many career staffers at the National Security Council have been wearing masks to work in their warren of offices in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, situated next to the West Wing.

Matt Pottinger, the deputy national security adviser, began wearing a mask to work even before new federal guidelines were issued last month.

Elsewhere in the building, however, mask usage remains low. A number of political appointees, including those working in the Office of Management and Budget, were called back to the office on Monday for the first time in weeks and have not been wearing masks. A source said compliance with mask guidelines among some staff in the building is "low to nonexistent."

As top budget officials huddle over next steps for another potential stimulus -- a process that could put aides in meetings with agency and congressional leaders -- social distancing measures haven't been strictly enforced in the office, a source said.

In the White House residence, fewer staffers are coming to work every day and the first lady is socially distancing from those who are, official said. But the President has shown uneven interest in social distancing. In some meetings, chairs are spaced further apart to maintain six feet of distance. But in other settings, like his meetings with governors or health care professionals in the Oval Office, Trump is well within the range.

Asked Thursday whether the valet who tested positive would spark a change in mask usage among White House aides, counselor Kellyanne Conway said it should be reporters who change their approach.

"I think if anybody should start wearing masks and showing more respect, it should be the media," she said.