Judge rejects another attempt by Trump to slow documents from going to House committee Jan. 6

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CNN

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN Reporter, Crime and Justice

A federal judge on Wednesday night said he would not help former President Donald Trump as he tries to buy time into his argument to keep secret records from his presidency, which he directed instead to the appellate court to ask for help.

Judge Tanya Chutkan’s latest decision comes a day after she ruled against Trump in a historic case about access to records from his presidency sought by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. at the U.S. Capitol.

Trump, the judge said, could not “end running around” in his decisions to try to win the case by forcing a delay, simply because he was appealing.

Chutkan stood by his decision that documents from Trump’s presidency should be provided to the House panel. He also learned that Trump, as a former President, cannot claim that documents are covered by executive privilege, when the current President supports their release.

Since the National Archives is scheduled to send notes to the House on Friday, Trump is scrambling in court for even temporary detention.

Chutkan refused to pause, focusing on the former President his second loss in two days. That means Trump now needs to seek help in the appeals court to keep the documents confidential as he proceeds with appeals.

None of the decisions from the federal district judge so far “trigger the damage he claims because the Archivist will not submit the requested records to the Select Committee until Nov. 12, 2021, and the Plaintiff may seek of appellate relief in the interim, “Chutkan wrote Wednesday night. “This court cannot effectively disregard its own argument in denying injunctive relief in the first place to grant injunctive relief today.”

Trump has not yet sought help from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, although he has already begun the appeals process.

In a brief court order, the Archives will return more than 40 pages on Friday in connection with Jan. 6, including visitors and White House call logs and three handwritten memos from the files of ex-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

In sum, Trump is trying to prevent the Archives from giving the House hundreds more pages later in November, as the House pushes to talk to close advisers to his White House under subpoena.

The Biden administration and the House select committee have opposed the delays Trump is lobbying in court.

The House committee wrote Wednesday that it needs Trump White House records quickly so it can continue investigating the attack on Congress.

“The potential harm to the public is enormous: Our democratic institutions and a key feature of our democracy – the peaceful transfer of power – are at stake. Any delay would seriously impede the Select Committee’s ability to complete a comprehensive investigation and recommend of effective remedial law, ”the committee wrote.

In another filing with Chutkan, the Biden administration said Trump, as former President, had “no personal interest in the records,” and that the Biden White House’s decision to allow this president’s records to land should be implemented. in Congress.

“The public interest weighs heavily in favor of advancing the Government’s business in a speedy and full investigation of the events on Jan. 6,” administration attorneys wrote.

This story was updated with more details on Wednesday.

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