Trump loses appeal to block Jan. 6 investigation into Capitol riot over record -taking

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Tear gas was fired at a crowd of protesters, with one holding a Confederate battle flag with the words “Come and Take It,” in clashes with Capitol police at a rally to fight for 2020 U.S. certification. presidential elections of the U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021.

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The federal appeals court on Thursday rejected President Donald Trump’s attempt to block a House select committee from taking a tranche of White House records for its investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol mess.

Trump is now ready to ask the Supreme Court to overturn the decision.

He argued that the records, held by the National Archives, were protected by executive privilege, the legal doctrine that protects White House documents from publicity.

The select committee objected to Trump’s claims, and President Joe Biden waived the privilege of the disputed records.

In Thursday’s decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said Biden “and the Legislative Branch have demonstrated national interest and a stringent need for immediate disclosure of these documents.”

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Trump “has provided no basis for this court to override President Biden’s judgment and the agreement and concessions made between the Political Branches on these documents,” the three-judge appeals panel said. in its 68-page opinion.

That decision stands in the opinion of a lower federal court judge, who ruled last month that in disputes between current and former presidents, “the incumbent’s perspective is given greater weight.”

Appellate judges also stressed the importance of the Jan. 6 attack, when hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol and forced lawmakers to flee for their safety. The rioters, many of whom have subscribed to Trump’s false assertion that the 2020 election was rigged against him, have temporarily prevented Congress from confirming Biden’s victory at the Electoral College.

“The events of January 6th exposed the weakness of the democratic institutions and traditions that we probably have endowed,” the opinion said.

Biden and Congress have “each made the judgment that access to this subset of presidential communications records is necessary to address something of the great constitutional moment for the Republic,” the decision said, and added that Trump “has given this court no legal reason to submit to set aside” Biden’s position “or to create conflict over the separation of powers that the Political Branches avoid.”

“The district court’s judgment denying a preliminary injunction was upheld,” the judges concluded.

The court’s unanimous opinion on the appeal was written by Judge Patricia Millet, an appointee of President Barack Obama. Millet was joined in the decision by Robert Wilkins, another Obama nominee, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, whom Biden nominated to court. The appointment of three Democrat -appointed judges in the case was seen as an unlucky draw for Trump.

His lawyers are now looking to the Supreme Court, where Trump has appointed three of the nine justices, to take over his case.

“Regardless of today’s appellate court decision, this case is always reserved for the Supreme Court,” said Liz Harrington, a spokeswoman for Trump, following the decision.

The panel of judges gave Trump two weeks to ask the high court to accept the appeal before removing a court order to hold the disputed records.

An attorney for Trump did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the decision.

“We welcome the Court’s decisive decision, which respects the Select Committee’s interest in obtaining White House records and the President’s judgment in allowing those records to be made,” said panel chairman Bennie Thompson, D -Miss., And vice chair, Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., In a statement.

“Our work is progressing fast. We’re going to get to the truth,” they said.

The decision comes a day after Trump’s former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows filed a lawsuit in Washington federal court seeking to overturn two subpoenas issued by the committee. Trump, citing executive privilege, ordered Meadows not to comply with the panel’s requests for documents and testimony.

The committee vowed to move forward in its efforts to contempt Meadows in violation of the subpoenas. A meeting is planned for Monday night to vote on advancing contempt proceedings across the House, which could lead to criminal cases.

The committee already held a similar meeting last week, when it voted to recommend that the House hold former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark in defiance of a subpoena.

Steve Bannon, Trump’s former senior White House advisor, was indicted last month on two counts of contempt in Congress for his disobedience to a select committee subpoena. Bannon also refused to comply based on Trump’s claims of privilege. Bannon was not guilty.

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