Trump, to keep documents on the Capitol assault secret, retaliates in court – The HuffPost

Jeenah Moon via Reuters

UNITED STATES – Former US President Donald trump sued to block the disclosure of White House documents relating to the assault of his supporters on the Capitol, according to a court file made public this Monday, October 18.

The billionaire invoked the executive’s right to keep certain information secret to prevent former aides from providing evidence to Congress, further escalation in the Republican tycoon’s campaign to block investigators looking into the deadly assault on the 6th. January.

The proceedings initiated by Donald trump should trigger a trial of strength in the courts which may well test the constitutional authority of the Congress to examine the actions of the executive branch of power.

What Trump knew about the attack

Thousands of supporters of the Republican president stormed the seat of the US Parliament on January 6, in an attempt to block Democrat Joe Biden’s electoral victory.

Earlier in the day, Donald Trump gave a speech in front of the crowd a few hundred meters away, arguing – unfounded – that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from him.

“The commission’s request is nothing but a vexatious and illegal attempt to fish for information, openly supported by Biden and designed to unconstitutionally investigate President Trump and his administration,” the complaint points out. filed in a Washington court.

Parliamentary investigators are seeking testimony from officials who could discuss what the president knew about the assault before it unfolded, and what he did when the event occurred.

Presidential privilege

Since late August, the National Archives has sent numerous official documents requested by investigators to teams from Trump and President Biden, giving them 30 days to review them.

In its case law, the Supreme Court has ruled that presidents have the right to keep certain documents and interviews confidential in order to ensure more frank discussions with their advisers. Donald Trump is far from the first American president to have used this privilege.

However, no court has said that the latter applied to former presidents. For now, current President Joe Biden has the final say on the matter, and has already claimed he would allow the release of a first batch of documents, dismissing the objections of his predecessor.

Donald Trump’s complaint asks a federal judge to declare any request from the commission as inadmissible and to prevent the National Archives from sending any documents. The former president has already asked his key aides, from his last chief of staff Mark Meadows to his political strategy adviser Steve Bannon, to ignore subpoenas to appear before the parliamentary commission of inquiry.

See also on The HuffPost: Donald Trump wants to reopen the investigation into the death of a QAnon activist killed on Capitol Hill