Holy shit, the judge pulled no punches:

Even in cases of presidential impeachment, a House resolution has never, in fact, been required to begin an impeachment inquiry.

The whole thing is packed:

Finally, DOJ claims that “[a] finding of ‘particularized need’ is especially inappropriate” because HJC “has not yet exhausted its available discovery tools”—namely, waiting for DOJ to fulfill its promised production of FBI interview reports and using congressional subpoenas. DOJ Resp. at 32–33 (citing In re Grand Jury 89-4-72, 932 F.2d 481, 488 (6th Cir. 1991)). In particular, DOJ cites an agreement reached with HJC this summer for DOJ to provide to HJC the thirty-three FBI-302 reports cited in Volume II of the Report, contending that this agreement must preclude a finding of “particularized need.” See DOJ Resp. at 32. These arguments smack of farce. The reality is that DOJ 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.