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A federal judge on Tuesday rejected former President Donald Trump’s attempt to prevent a bipartisan select committee of the House of Representatives from obtaining records from the White House as part of its investigation of the assault on the Capitol carried out on January 6.
Judge Tanya Chutkan in a court order said that it is unlikely that Trump “Succeed on the merits of your claims or suffer irreparable harm”, and that “a balance of actions and the public interest oppose” the granting of your request, according to CNBC.
The judge decided that the wishes of a former president could not overcome the decisions of the current president on the protection of privileged information of the executive branch . “It is the incumbent president who is best placed to protect the interests of the executive branch,” said Chutkan.
Trump is appealing the ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit
Chutkan’s order came less than a day after he rejected an emergency offer from Trump’s attorney for prevent the National Archives from releasing documents to the Congressional investigation into the attack on 6 January.
Trump had filed a lawsuit in mid-October to block the select committee’s request that the United States archivist turn over stacks of Trump administration records. Jesse Binnall , Trump’s attorney, argued in federal court in Washington that many of the documents that s e seek are protected under executive privilege .
Trump’s opinion ” seems to be based on the notion that its executive power ‘exists in perpetuity’ ”, wrote Chutkan. “ But the Presidents are not kings and the plaintiff is not president. ”
Binnall had accused the members of the select committee of trying to“ harass ”the former president through an “illegal and vexatious fishing expedition.”
He also criticized the president Joe Biden for rejecting Trump’s claims of privilege, accusing him of a “political ploy to accommodate his partisan allies.”
Tuesday’s ruling by Judge Tanya Chutkan is a blow to the efforts Trump for keeping more than 700 pages of secret White House records, although his legal team has informed the court that it intends to appeal.
As of now, the National Archives is still on track to hand over to the investigating commission of the House of Representatives a series of documents next Friday, including White House call logs, video logs and schedules related to January 6, as well as three pages of handwritten notes from Trump’s then chief of staff. , according to CNN.
The result in court could also help the House of Representatives in its search for more information from those around Trump, including witnesses who have been summoned and have not yet spoken to the committee.