Tear gas is sprayed into a crowd of protesters. One man was holding a Confederate battle banner that read "Come and Take It" during clashes against Capitol police at a rally contesting the certification of 2020 U.S. presidential elections results by Congress at the U.S. Capitol Building, Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021.
A federal appeals court was asked by former President Donald Trump to temporarily stop the release of White House records to legislators investigating the deadly Capitol Invasion. This request came just one day before the records were due to be released.
Trump's latest attempt to stop the National Archives handing over reams upon reams to the House select Committee probing the Jan. 6, attack marks the request for a "brief” administrative injunction.
Trump, who refused to concede to President Joe Biden, is hinting that he will run again for president in 2024. He was impeached by the House for inciting insurrection, and acquitted by the Senate. During a joint session, a mob made up of hundreds of Trump supporters invaded the Capitol and forced Congress members to flee their chambers. This temporarily hampered efforts to confirm Biden’s victory in the Electoral College.
U.S. Archivist David Ferriero will begin producing the disputed documents on Friday at 6 pm. ET, Trump's lawyer informed the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington. Circuit. Jesse Binnall is the lawyer who asked the D.C. Circuit to stop the release of the records while the court considered another injunction fast-track.
Binnall sent the following to the appeals court: "Put simply. This motion seeks only to pause the production; it will never prejudice the other arguments and requests made by the parties to this important appeal."
Binnall stated that the House committee and National Archives are not opposed to the request for an administrative injunction.
After Trump's lawyers tried to block the transfer of records to Jan. 6 by federal Judge Tanya Chutkan, the court issued an emergency request to the appeals court.
Bipartisan select committee seeks a broad range of records from Trump’s White House term, including communications regarding strategies to defeat Biden in 2020. Judges dismissed dozens of Trump campaign lawsuits challenging state results.
In mid-October, Trump sued the bipartisan select committee and the National Archives and Records Administration in U.S. District Court, Washington, to stop the release of these records.
Binnall claimed that many of the documents should be withheld as they are protected under executive privilege. This doctrine allows certain communications within the executive branch to remain confidential. Biden, however, refused to infringe privilege on the disputed documents.
Chutkan ruled against Trump Tuesday night. He wrote that his view "appears premised upon the notion that Trump's executive power 'exists forever' However, presidents are not kings and Plaintiff is not the President.
Trump filed a notice to appeal to the D.C. Circuit less than an hour after his initial submission.
Seven Democrats and two Republicans make up the select committee. They have pledged to move as quickly as possible in their investigation into the causes and facts of Jan. 6's invasion.
The panel has already announced new subpoenas for testimony and documents to at least 16 former Trump associates. These include ex-press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and ex-national security advisor Stephen Miller.
In a previous vote, the House held Steve Bannon (a former top adviser to Trump) in contempt of Congress because he refused to comply with a subpoena from the select committee.
