Biden Declines Trump Request to Withhold White House Records From Jan. 6 Committee
Olivia Scro
US News Writer
The White House on Friday officially obstructed an attempt by Donald Trump to withhold reports from Congress about the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, setting up a legitimate confrontation between the current and previous presidents over the privilege to hold the documents.
In a letter to the National Archives acquired by NBC News, White House Counsel Dana Remus dismissed an attempt by Trump’s lawyers to obtain the reports requested by the House Select Committee in regards to the activities that occurred on Jan. 6. Dana stated that “President Biden has determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the best interests of the United States, and therefore is not justified as to any of the documents.”
“These are unique and extraordinary circumstances,” Remus added. “Congress is examining an assault on our Constitution and democratic institutions provoked and fanned by those sworn to protect them, and the conduct under investigation extends far beyond typical deliberations concerning the proper discharge of the President’s constitutional responsibilities. The constitutional protections of executive privilege should not be used to shield from Congress or the public, information that reflects a clear and apparent effort to subvert the Constitution itself.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced that President Joe Biden had as of now decided that it would not be suitable to the state leader to give permission to withhold documents related to the Jan. 6 situation.
The White House currently is approving the National Archives to turn over the piles of archived documents that fell under a general class mentioned by the committee, covering Trump’s activities and communications on Jan. 6, which include the rally at The Ellipse and other suspicious gatherings and exchanges with his supporters for the duration of the day.
Those documents contain everything from Twitter messages, telephone and guest logs, recordings, and photographs of occasions he took part in. It additionally included archives and correspondences related to the former VP Mike Pence’s actions and security, and extensively some other records alluding to the rally at The Ellipse and riot at the Capitol.
Upon President Biden’s request, the National Archives promptly started collecting records for things receptive to the committee’s request made in August. So far, It has been producing relevant documents both to Trump’s legal representatives and the Biden White House on a regular basis since then. The specific batch of documents in question was initially produced to both parties on Sept. 8.
Contact Olivia at olivia.scro@student.shu.edu