A federal judge ruled on Friday that the Justice Department must hand over the grand jury evidence from former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation to the House Judiciary Committee, Politico reports. Judge Beryl Howell said DOJ must provide “[a]ll portions of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s Report on the Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election that were redacted” due to grand jury restrictions to Congress by Oct. 30. The judge also required the department to give lawmakers “any underlying transcripts or exhibits referenced in the portions of the Mueller Report that were redacted” due to grand jury restrictions.

The access to information from the Mueller probe into 2016 election interference is considered a win for Democrats, who argued that they needed the materials in order to properly determine whether articles of impeachment should be brought against President Trump. Judge Howell also stated that the House Democrats' impeachment inquiry into Trump is valid even though a formal vote hasn't been held on the matter. The DOJ and Republicans in Congress had argued that only a formal vote could officially launch impeachment proceedings.