The White House rejected an effort by former president Donald Trump to block the release of documents related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, to a special House committee investigating the insurrection.
“President Biden has determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the best interests of the United States, and therefore is not justified as to any of the documents,” White House Counsel Dana Remus said in a letter to the National Archives obtained by NBC News.
“These are unique and extraordinary circumstances,” Remus continued. “Congress is examining an assault on our Constitution and democratic institutions provoked and fanned by those sworn to protect them, and the conduct under investigation extends far beyond typical deliberations concerning the proper discharge of the President’s constitutional responsibilities. The constitutional protections of executive privilege should not be used to shield, from Congress or the public, information that reflects a clear and apparent effort to subvert the Constitution itself.”
During Friday’s briefing, Press Secretary Jen Psaki emphasized that the documents released to the committee is only the first and that the White House would evaluate further requests on a case-by-case basis, the Hill reports.
“This is just the first set of documents, and we will evaluate claims of privilege on a case by case basis, but the president has also been clear he believes it to be of the utmost importance for both Congress and the American people to have a complete understanding of the events of that day to prevent them from happening again,” Psaki said.
The committee requested documents covering Trump’s actions and communications on Jan. 6, including his rally at The Ellipse on White House grounds, and subsequent meetings and communications throughout the day, including Twitter messages, phone and visitor logs, videos and photos of events he participated in. The committee also requested documents and communications related to then-Vice President Mike Pence’s movements and security, according to NBC News.
