House votes to take Trump officials to court to make them hand over Mueller evidence

Democrats in the House have voted to take two top Trump administration officials to court to force them to provide material related to Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

In a vote on party lines – 229-191 – the House of Representatives adopted a resolution to take attorney general William Barr and former White House counsel Don McGahn, to court to enforce subpoenas already issued against them.

The vote also gave authority to the chairs of six house committees to go to court to seek to enforce future subpoenas without the need for a full vote in the entire chamber.

The move – a broadening of the powers of a handful of Democratic members of Congress – is the latest in a success of attempts by politicians on Capitol Hill to try and turn the screw on the Trump administration, which has stated its intention to resist requests for evidence and testimony from officials.

The tactic was summed up by Donald Trump who earlier this year told reporters: “We’re fighting all the subpoenas.”

Democrats, ultimately disappointed by the outcome of Robert Mueller’s two-years investigation and the fact it has so far not led to impeachment proceedings against the president, have instead decided to follow an alternative strategy to try and force the administration to cooperate with its ongoing probes – investigations the president claims as part of a witch hunt.

Instead, the committee heard testimony from Richard Nixon’s White House lawyer, John Dean, who served jail time for covering up of the Watergate scandal.

Dean, who has emerged as an outspoken critic of Mr Trump, told the committee: “Special counsel Mueller has provided this committee with a road map.”

Mr Trump later responded, telling reporters: “John Dean’s been a loser for many years.”

After Tuesday’s vote, Jerry Nadler, the Democratic chair of the House judiciary committee, said he would “move forward with holding this president accountable”.

“We will move as quickly as possible to go to court against Don McGahn, the president’s former counsel, and any subsequent witnesses who disobey a committee subpoena,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the House oversight committee will vote on whether to hold Mr Barr and another administration official, commerce secretary Wilbur Ross, in contempt of Congress, over their alleged efforts to politicise the 2020 US census.

The Trump administration has sought to add a citizenship question to the census, something it says will help provide a better understanding of where citizens live. Critics say it could put off minorities from responding, a view that has hardened since it was revealed the architect of the plan, Tom Hofeller, who died last year, said it would be “advantageous to Republicans and non-Hispanic whites”.

Committee chairman Elijah Cummings said: “Both secretary Ross and attorney general Barr are refusing to comply with duly authorised subpoenas from Congress. “Because they are in contempt of Congress, on Wednesday, the committee will vote to move forward to enforce our bipartisan subpoenas.”