Appeals court rules against Trump effort to block document release to Jan. 6 panel
A federal appeals court has denied former President Donald Trump's bid to block the release of some of his White House records to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The unanimous ruling from the three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a lower court's decision that a tranche of Trump White House records can be provided to the Democratic-led committee.
"On the record before us, former President Trump has provided no basis for this court to override President Biden's judgment and the agreement and accommodations worked out between the Political Branches over these documents," Judge Patricia Millett wrote in the ruling. "Both Branches agree that there is a unique legislative need for these documents and that they are directly relevant to the Committee's inquiry into an attack on the Legislative Branch and its constitutional role in the peaceful transfer of power."
The court said it will leave in place its temporary block on releasing the documents for 14 days to allow Trump time to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, as the former president's attorneys have signaled they intend to do.
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Still, the ruling is a positive step for the Jan. 6 committee, which said it needs the Trump White House records — communications, calendars, schedules — to get a better picture of what Trump did in the run-up to Jan. 6 and on the day itself.
The panel asked the National Archives, which is the custodian of presidential records, to provide the materials. President Joe Biden waived executive privilege over the documents, saying the House investigation is unique and there's a public interest in getting to the bottom of the deadly events of Jan. 6.
Trump then sued to try to block the committee from getting the documents, arguing, among other things, that Biden was wrong to waive executive privilege.
A district court judge ruled against Trump. He appealed to the D.C. Circuit Court, which also has now ruled against him.
"The central question in this case is whether, despite the exceptional and imperative circumstances underlying the Committee's request and President Biden's decision, a federal court can, at the former President's behest, override President Biden's decision not to invoke privilege and prevent his release to Congress of documents in his possession that he deems to be needed for a critical legislative inquiry," Judge Millett wrote in the opinion.
The court found President Biden provided a "carefully reasoned" decision that these documents shouldn't be shielded by executive privilege, and that disclosure was in the national interest. It said Congress has demonstrated its "vital interest" in investigating Jan. 6, and that the documents are relevant to its inquiry.
The court also said Trump failed to allege, let alone demonstrate, any particular harm that would come from disclosing these records.
"Former President Trump likewise has failed to establish irreparable harm, and the balance of interests and equities weigh decisively in favor of disclosure," the court says.
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