US Court Rejects Donald Trump’s Bid to Keep Capitol Riot Documents Secret

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Trump accused of inciting attack on US Congress (File)

Washington:

The U.S. federal appeals court rejected former president Donald Trump’s bid on Thursday to block the release of White House records related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

The appellate court agreed to the lower court’s decision that President Joe Biden could waive executive privilege on the records, so they could be handed over to a Congressional panel investigating the violence by Trump supporters.

Trump, who has been accused of inciting the attack on the U.S. Congress, sought to use his privilege as a former president to keep secret documents and phone records that may have been linked to the attack.

But the court said Biden’s conviction weighed more heavily on the case.

“The right of a former President certainly enjoys no greater weight than that of the incumbent,” the appellate court said in its decision.

“In this case, President Biden, as head of the Executive Branch, specifically found that Congress has demonstrated a compelling need for these specific documents and that disclosure is in the best interest of the country,” the statement said. short.

The appeal of the Supreme Court is expected

The decision did not immediately release the records. The appellate court said Trump’s lawyers would have two weeks to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.

There, Trump’s lawyers are expected to request a new release freeze while the high court reviews the pending case.

The appellate court also said the public interest was greater than Trump’s own in relation to the records.

“That public interest rises when, as here, the legislature moves urgently to prevent violent attacks on the federal government and disruptions to the peaceful transfer of power,” it said.

The records, held by the National Archives, are being searched by the House Select Committee investigating the violence on Jan. 6, in which hundreds of Trump supporters forced Congress to close and delayed a joint session to confirm that Joe Biden won the election in November 2020 and will become president.

The documents include Trump hopes to block notes from his top aides and memos to his press secretary.

The more than 770 pages include records of his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, his former senior advisor Stephen Miller and his former deputy counsel Patrick Philbin.

Trump also hopes to block the release of the White House Daily Diary – a record of his activities, trips, briefings and phone calls.

Another volume of documents Trump does not want to see in Congress includes memos to his former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, a handwritten note on events on Jan. 6 and a draft text of his speech on ” Save America “rally, which led to the attack. .

(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published from a syndicated feed.)

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