Washington (CNN) A federal judge on Wednesday rejected House Democrats' effort to put two key legal cases the Judiciary Committee is pursuing in its impeachment investigation before the same judge.

The decision from DC District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell is a procedural setback for the House Judiciary Committee in its effort to use the courts to obtain information while the panel considers whether to bring forward articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump

Howell sided with the Justice Department and former White House counsel Don McGahn in a Wednesday ruling that the Judiciary Committee's lawsuit to enforce its subpoena of McGahn should not be connected to its petition to obtain former special counsel Robert Mueller's grand jury materials.

The House had argued that its grand jury petition filed in July and its McGahn lawsuit are connected because they involved "common issues of fact" and were both part of the committee's investigation to determine whether to impeach the President.

But the Justice Department responded in a court filing on Tuesday that the cases should not be linked, accusing the House panel of "attempting to game the system by shopping for a judge they perceive as more favorable to their cause."

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