A United States Appeals Court has rejected former President Donald Trump's bid to block the House Select Committee from accessing White House records amid the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot investigation.
The decision has left the Republican businessman no choice but to ask the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling. Trump has repeatedly argued that the records the committee is asking for, held by the National Archives, are protected by executive privilege. This legal doctrine secures White House documents from being made public.
Trump's Bid Rejected
However, the select committee has rejected Trump's claims of executive privilege, with President Joe Biden waiving right over the disputed records. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said in its Thursday ruling that Biden "and the Legislative Branch have shown a national interest in and pressing need for the prompt disclosure of these documents," CNBC reported.
Judge Patricia Millett, who wrote the D.C. Circuit opinion, said that the events on Jan. 6 showed the American nation how fragile certain democratic institutions and traditions were. She said that the decision was made regarding how the current U.S. president and Congress have shown how crucial the documents were to upholding the Constitution.
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Additionally, the court said that former President Trump had not given sufficient legal reason to cast aside Democratic President Biden's assessment of the Executive Branch interests at stake. They said that the Republican businessman also did not provide adequate reasoning for creating a separation of powers conflict.
Millett, who former President Barack Obama appointed, was supported in her decision by fellow Obama-appointee, Judge Robert Wilkins, and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who Biden appointed. In response to Trump's claims of executive privilege, the Democratic president said that the events on Jan. 6 warranted the transparency over the disputed White House records, CNN reported.
Capitol Hill Riot
The court said that many lives were lost during the unprecedented Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot, and blood was shed in the streets. They argued that portions of the Capitol building were severely damaged. The people responsible for the storming of the building endangered the lives of members of the House and Senate and aides, staffers, and others who were inside the Capitol.
The three judges added that there was a believable direct connection between former President Trump and the events of that horrific day. In response to the court's decision, Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington said that the Republican businessman would not ask the Supreme Court to intervene in the House Select Committee's attempt to access the White House records.
Trump's lawyers have only 14 days to manage the process, delaying the release of the records to Congress. In a Twitter post, Harrington said that regardless of the Appeals Court's decision, Trump's case was always destined to reach the Supreme Court. She said that the former president's duty to defend the Constitution and the Office of the Presidency continues and that he will fight for every single citizen and every future administration, the Washington Post reported.