Court Rejects Trump’s Efforts to Retain Panel Tapes 1/6 – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal appeals court ruled Thursday against an attempt by former President Donald Trump to protect documents from the House committee investigating the January 6 insurgency on Capitol Hill.

In one 68-page decision, the three-judge panel rejected Trump’s various arguments for blocking through executive privilege cases that the committee considers essential to its investigation into the preparations for the deadly riot that sought to overturn the election results presidential election of 2020.

Judge Patricia Millett, writing for the tribunal, said Congress had a “unique vital interest” in studying the events of January 6 and that President Joe Biden had made a “carefully reasoned” decision that the documents were in the public interest and that the executive privilege should therefore not be invoked. Trump also did not show any harm that would result from the release of the wanted tapes, Millett wrote.

“In the case before us, former President Trump has provided no basis for this tribunal to overturn President Biden’s judgment and the agreement and accommodations reached between the political branches on these documents,” said the opinion.

He adds: “Both branches agree that there is a unique legislative need for these documents and that they are directly relevant to the Committee’s investigation into an attack on the legislative branch and its constitutional role in the peaceful transfer of power.

The appeals court has ruled that the injunction that prevented the National Archives from handing over the documents will expire in two weeks, or when the Supreme Court rules on an expected appeal from Trump, whichever is later. Trump’s lawyers can also ask the entire appeals court to review the case. Seven of the court’s 11 appeals judges were appointed by Democratic presidents, four by Republican presidents.

Panel leaders, Reps Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., And Liz Cheney, R.-Wyo., Welcomed the decision, saying it “respects the select committee’s interest in securing the White House records. and the judgment of the president in authorizing these files to be produced. Our work is progressing rapidly. We will come to the truth.

But Trump’s spokeswoman said the case was far from settled.

“Regardless of today’s appeal court ruling, this case was still before the Supreme Court,” said Liz Harrington. “President Trump’s duty to defend the Constitution and the office of the President continues, and he will continue to fight for every American and every future administration. “

In its ruling, the court said that the executive privilege claimed by Trump is not a personal privilege but rather a privilege that he “manages” for the “benefit of the Republic”.

“The interests that the privilege protects are those of the presidency itself, not of former President Trump individually. And the president has determined that immediate disclosure will promote, not harm, the national interest, and this delay here is in itself detrimental, ”the opinion says.

Biden has asked the committee to defer requests for some of the early documents that might have raised claims of privilege, and officials expect more documents in subsequent installments to be submitted to the same outcome.

The court praised Biden’s “calibrated judgment” in working with Congress and the archives to weigh privilege issues, saying it “bears no resemblance to the” broad and unlimited waiver “of executive privilege denounced by the former President Trump “.

White House spokesman Mike Gwin said: “As President Biden has determined, constitutional protections of executive privilege should not be used to protect information that reflects a clear and apparent effort to subvert the law. Constitution itself. “

Trump sued the House committee on Jan.6 and the National Archives to prevent the White House from allowing publication of documents related to the insurgency. Biden had waived claims of executive privilege from Trump as the current holder.

The problem, the court said, is not that Trump “has no say in the matter”, but rather his failure to show that withholding documents should replace Biden’s “thoughtful and serious judgment” that Congress is entitled to the records.

The National Archives said the files Trump wants to block include presidential newspapers, visitor logs, drafts of speeches, handwritten notes “relating to the events of January 6” from the files of former chief of staff Mark Meadows , and “a draft decree on the subject of electoral integrity.

Pleading for the committee, United States House Counsel Douglas Letter argued that a current president’s resolve should trump predecessors in almost all circumstances and noted that Biden and Congress agreed that the January 6 files be handed over.

The three appeals court judges who heard the arguments were nominated by Democrats. Millett and Judge Robert Wilkins were appointed by former President Barack Obama. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is a person nominated by Biden who is considered a candidate for a seat on the Supreme Court if a seat opens during the current administration.

Republican presidents have appointed six of the nine Supreme Court justices, including three chosen by Trump.

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