Analysis: Trump suffers blow in January 6 case but keeps trying to

Although Trump is already mustering an appeal, the ruling represented a huge win for the House select committee probing one of the most alarming assaults on democracy in US history. It also came as a swift blow to Trump’s efforts to run out the clock ahead of a possible Republican takeover of the House next year, which would mean an almost certain end to the investigation.

It upheld a core principle underpinning the checks and balances of American democracy that allows the court system to step in to adjudicate a dispute between a chamber of Congress and the executive over the extent of presidential power. Most intriguingly, it also represents the first test of Trump’s ability to use the court system to defy Congress when he is not shielded by the office of the presidency itself. It could have implications for the power of ex-presidents as it relates to executive privilege.

“Presidents are not kings,” Judge Tanya Chutkan wrote, adding: “And Plaintiff is not President,” as she ruled that current commander in chief Joe Biden — and not the former occupants of the office — is the determining factor in privilege claims.

For much of a term that constantly stretched and almost buckled the principles of American democracy, Trump did seem to believe he had the authority of a king. Indeed, the President who was twice impeached for abuses of power once declared that Article 2 of the Constitution meant that he had “the right to do whatever I want as President.” But Chutkan’s ruling shows that as an ex-President, Trump’s belief in his own omnipotence and right to flout the rule of law is on even weaker ground than during his four tumultuous years in office.

Boost to January 6 committee

Tuesday’s ruling offers an immediate boost to the committee investigating the January 6 attack by a pro-Trump mob on the US Capitol.

The panel has been struggling to get key figures around the ex-President to testify about his coup attempt. It has already cited Trump’s longtime political guru Steve Bannon for contempt of Congress and is waiting to see whether the Justice Department will underwrite its authority and open a prosecution in the case.

The committee has sent out another flurry of subpoenas to Trump White House aides and outside advisers this week, but until Attorney General Merrick Garland makes a decision on Bannon’s fate, the extent of the panel’s capacity to work its will remains in doubt.

The committee wants to examine White House call and visitor logs, schedules and notes from top officials including former chief of staff Mark Meadows, to flesh out a full picture of the ex-President’s actions in the run up to the insurrection. It wants to find out who was advising Trump, whether the march on the Capitol was pre-planned, and learn about his failure to stop the marauding mob once it had breached the Capitol building.

In her opinion, Chutkan wrote that the House had every interest in examining all aspects of that fateful day “and to consider legislation to prevent…