Former president Donald Trump filed a lawsuit in order to keep the White House records about the Jan. 6 insurrection a secret. The lawsuit, filed to the DC District Court against the House select committing that is investigating the riot, as well as the National Archives.
Trump is attempting to block the committee’s investigation into the insurrection earlier this year. Part of the House committee’s investigation is looking into Trump’s actions before and during the riot.
Trump’s lawsuit alleges that a request for documents from the executive branch is untethered from legitimate purpose, and labeled the requests as “unprecedented in their breadth and scope.” It claims that President Joe Biden’s desire to air the documents was a “political ploy”.
Trump’s court action to block the House committee’s efforts is the latest in his ongoing fight against the Democratic-controlled Congress.
But the House committee’s members insist that they do in fact have the authority needed to seek these records. The Committee Chair, Bennie Thompson, and Vice-Chair, Liz Cheney, reiterated this week their authority to view these records.
In a statement from the Chair and Vice Chair, they said that Trump’s objective was clear: to stop the committee from getting the facts.
They said his lawsuit was nothing more than an attempt to delay and obstruct the committee’s probe and justice for what happened. They also pointed to a history of the White House accommodating congressional investigation requests, especially when the public interest clearly outweighs other concerns. Precedent and law are on our side, the statement said.
The statement referred to the Jan. 6 insurrection as “an attack on our democracy”, and questioned what could be a more compelling public interest than wanting answers about these attacks.
The records in question include his internal communications with lawyers, campaign operatives and senior officials.
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