Trump attempts to block House investigation into Capitol riot by claiming he and his allies are protected by executive privilege

Donald Trump talks on the phone to Vladimir Putin, Russian President, at the White House on January 28, 2017. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Trump claimed that records requested in the House investigation into the Capitol riot were protected.

The Biden administration will decide if executive privilege is applicable to records.

The committee made sweeping requests to target former White House officials as well as key Trump allies.

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On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump claimed that communications and documents relating to January 6th's attack on the Capitol were covered by executive privilege. However, it is up to the Biden administration for that claim.

Trump claimed the claim after the House Select Committee investigating January 6 events issued extensive records requests to several federal agencies, former White House officials and Trump advisors.

Trump stated in a statement that executive privilege would be protected, not only on behalf my Administration and the Patriots working beside me but also on behalf the Office of President of the United States, and the future nation. Trump called the committee a "partisan scam" and a wasteful of money.

Continue reading: We identified the top 125 institutions and people responsible for Donald Trump’s rise to power, and his behavior that pushed the limits of the US government's boundaries.

In May, the Justice Department informed former officials that they could give "unrestricted evidence" to congressional committees. This was in response to Trump's attempts to use the DOJ for overturning the election results. The White House records are not available to the same extent as investigators. This has not been determined by the administration.

Bipartisan select committee requested records from the Departments of Justice, Interior, Defense, and Homeland Security; the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Counterterrorism Center, and the National Archives, which contains Trump's White House records.

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These requests were directed at former Vice President Mike Pence, many Trump's White House campaign and advisors, including Mark Meadows (his former chief of staff), Rudy Giuliani (his ex-lawyer), Michael Flynn (his former national security adviser), and Steve Bannon who was his top aide.

The committee requested communications and documents about Trump's family members, including Melania Trump, former first lady; Jared Kushner (his son-in law); his two oldest sons, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump; and Lara Trump.

According to the committee, it will investigate "the facts and circumstances surrounding the January 6th attack."

"Our Constitution allows for peaceful power transfers, and this investigation seeks out to evaluate threats to those processes, identify lessons learned, and recommend laws policies, procedures or regulations necessary to safeguard our republic in the near future," Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi's chairman of the committee, stated in a Wednesday statement.

Thompson stated that these records requests will be followed up by others.

On July 27, the group held its first public hearing. It featured emotional testimony by four law enforcement officers who responded to attacks on Capitol Hill.

Business Insider has the original article.