Appeal from the United States District Court for the ---- (November 24, 1987) Before MERRITT*, JONES**, and GUY***, Circuit Judges. MERRITT, Circuit Judge: This appeal is from an order granting the request of the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States House of Representatives for immediate access to all the confidential records of Grand Jury No. 81-1-GJ (MIA) for use in connection with the Committee's impeachment inquiry concerning United States District Judge Alcee L. Hastings of Southern District of Florida. the 7 Judge Hastings contends that a much greater showing of "particularized need" must be made under Rule 6(e), Fed. R. Crim. P., than would normally be the case for the release of secret grand jury information because legislative branch for purposes of impeachment raises significant separation of powers considerations not present in the usual Committee's showing is sufficient case. We conclude that the / and affirm the order of the District Court. disclosure to the *The Honorable Gilbert S. Merritt, Judge of the United States I. On December 29, 1981, the Grand Jury, sitting in the Following Southern District of Florida, returned indictments charging Judge On March 17, 1983, two United States District Judges filed a complaint with the Eleventh Circuit requesting an investigation of Judge Hastings pursuant to the Judicial Councils Reform and Judicial Conduct and Disability Act, 28 U.S.C. S 372 (c), to determine whether Judge Hastings had engaged in conduct prejudicial to the effective and expeditious administration of the business of the courts. The Chief Judge of the Eleventh Circuit appointed an Investigating Committee which conducted a three-year investigation. The Investigating Committee sought and obtained the same grand jury materials which are at issue in this case. See In Re Petition to Inspect and Copy Grand Jury Materials, 735 F.2d 1261 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 884 (1984). On August 4, 1986, the Investigating Committee submitted its report and recommendations to the Judicial Council of the Eleventh Circuit. On September 2, 1986, the Judicial Council adopted the Investigating Committee's report and determined that "consideration of impeachment [of Judge Hastings] may On March 17, 1987, the Judicial Conference of the United States concurred in the determination of the Judicial Council and transmitted the Investigating Committee's report and records to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The report and records were referred to the Committee on the Judiciary and an impeachment inquiry was initiated. On March 23, 1987, House Resolution 128 was introduced. The resolution under consideration provides for the impeachment of Judge Hastings for high crimes and misdemeanors. The Judiciary Committee has made public the Investigating Committee's report and supporting documents. On July 15, 1987, the Honorable Peter Rodino, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, wrote a letter to Chief Judge King of the Southern District of Florida requesting that the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida deliver to the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice all of the "records, transcripts, minutes and exhibits" of the grand jury that indicted Judge Hastings. Rodino's letter stated that a full review of the complete record of the grand jury was essential in order for the House impeachment inquiry to be complete and "reach the degree of thoroughness necessary to ensure public confidence that justice had been done...." Although Congressman Rodino's letter did not contain an in-depth analysis of why the Committee believed it was entitled to the grand jury records, it did note that grand jury material was disclosed to the Committee during the Nixon impeachment inquiry. See In re Report and Recommendation of June 5, 1972 Grand Jury Concerning Transmission of Evidence to the House of Representatives, 370 F. Supp. 1219 (D.D.C.), mandamus denied ub nom. Haldeman v. Sirica, 501 F.2d 714 (D.C. Cir. 1974). On August 5, 1987, Chief Judge King issued a sealed order giving the Judiciary Committee access to the requested grand jury materials. (App., p. 13.) On August 10, 1987, Judge Hastings filed an emergency motion to stay Judge King's order and to unseal it. He also requested that the court grant him access to the grand jury materials and that the grand jury materials be made public, excepting such material as may be determined should remain secret to protect significant interests of persons not involved in the present dispute. After Judge King and the other judges of the District recused themselves, the emergency motion was heard by Senior Circuit Judge John P. Butzner, Jr. of the Fourth Circuit, sitting by designation. Judge Butzner held that (1) the Judiciary Committee is entitled to the materials; (2) Judge Hastings' access to the materials should be determined by Congress, since control over the timing and extent of discovery in impeachment proceedings is ancillary to the impeachment power that the Constitution vests in Congress; and (3) that no need for public disclosure exists sufficient to justify an exception to the general rule of grand jury secrecy mandated by Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e) (2) . (App., p. 164) Judge Hastings now appeals the first of these rulings concerning the release of the grand jury materials. This panel of judges from the United 1Although Judge Hastings' briefs and papers on appeal can be read as presenting on appeal the issue of disclosure to him and to the public, his counsel at oral argument made clear that these issues were not being pursued and, to the extent they were presented in his papers, were withdrawn. We therefore need not address the part of Judge Butzner's opinion that states that Judge Hastings must first seek disclosure of the material from the Committee. Rather than seek disclosure from the Committee, Judae Ra Ings may of course seek disclosure from the District Court under 5 States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit was assigned to hear the appeal by designation after the judges of the Eleventh Circuit recused themselves because they had participated in the investigation of Judge Hastings. We consider the Committee's request within the framework of Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e), which codifies the traditional general rule of grand jury secrecy and sets out several exceptions to it. The only exception arguably applicable to the Committee request is subsection 6(e) (3) (C) (i), which authorizes disclosure "when so directed by a court preliminarily to or in connection with a judicial proceeding." Rule 6(e) (2) states a general rule of grand jury secrecy, while 6(e) (3) provides the following exception: (C) Disclosure otherwise prohibited by this rule of matters occurring before the grand jury may also be made (i) when so directed by a court preliminarily to or in connection If the court orders disclosure of matters occurring conditions as the court may direct. Judge Butzner below held, and the parties agree, that within the meaning of the rule a Senate impeachment trial qualifies as a "judicial proceeding" and that a House impeachment inquiry is "preliminary to" the Senate trial. We therefore do not have before us an issue concerning the interpretation of |