Nov. 30 (UPI) — Former President Donald Trump‘s crusade to keep hundreds of official White House records away from the House’s Jan. 6 committee will reach a critical juncture Tuesday as attorneys for both sides will plead their case before a federal appeals court.
The attorneys will present their arguments before the D.C. Court of Criminal Appeals. Judges Ketanji Brown Jackson, Patricia Millett and Robert Wilkins will hear the arguments, in which Trump’s attorneys are expected to claim that the former president can invoke executive privilege to keep the documents and phone call logs away from House investigators.
The panel is examining the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by radical supporters of the former president, who were actively looking to interfere in Congress’ certification of Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
The Jan. 6 committee said it should have the right to see the documents, which are stored at the National Archives and Records Administration, the custodian of his White House records.
The documents are needed, the panel says, to properly carry out the investigation and determine what Trump knew before, during and after the attack.
The House January 6 Select Committee convenes to investigate the attack at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., on October 19. File Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has rejected Trump’s claims of executive privilege in another court and declined to impede the committee’s access to the documents while being decided, but the appeals court temporarily halted the transfer until Tuesday’s hearing.
Trump has asserted executive privilege over 763 pages related to the Capitol attack, many of which are talking points prepared for his press secretary. They also include presidential schedules, appointments, activity logs, call logs and other relevant documents.
The NARA is still reviewing thousands of pages that might be challenged.
The appellate court’s action is part of numerous efforts by Trump and former aides to deny the Jan. 6 committee information. Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former adviser Steve Bannon have both defied subpoenas from the committee, arguing that they were following Trump’s lead in claiming executive privilege.
The Justice Department has charged Bannon with criminal contempt.
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