Biden won't invoke executive privilege on Trump Jan. 6 docs

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WASHINGTON – The White House said Friday that President Joe Biden volition not artifact the handover of documents sought by a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection astatine the U.S. Capitol, mounting up a showdown with erstwhile President Donald Trump, who wants to shield those White House records from investigators.

The missive from White House counsel Dana Remus to the Archivist of the United States comes astatine the commencement of a perchance lengthy ineligible conflict implicit the investigation. Trump, who told his supporters to “fight similar hell” the greeting of the insurrection and has defended the rioters who bushed constabulary and broke into the Capitol, is trying to artifact Congress from learning more. Biden has truthful acold sided with House Democrats, who person asked for thousands of pages of documents and subpoenaed witnesses connected to Trump.

The House committee investigating the insurrection, which formed implicit the summer, present has the momentous task of sorting done the details and obtaining documents and grounds from witnesses who whitethorn oregon whitethorn not beryllium cooperative. And the jockeying betwixt the 2 administrations, Congress and the witnesses is definite to hold the probe and acceptable the signifier for messy litigation that could agelong good into 2022.

In a abstracted development, a lawyer for Steve Bannon said the erstwhile White House adjutant won’t comply with the House committee’s probe due to the fact that Trump is asserting enforcement privilege. Bannon is the lone 1 of the apical Trump aides subpoenaed connected Sept. 23 who was not moving for the Trump medication connected Jan. 6.

Two different aides, erstwhile White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and erstwhile Pentagon adjutant Kash Patel, are “engaging” with the committee, lawmakers said successful a statement.

Remus wrote that Biden has determined that invoking enforcement privilege “is not successful the champion interests of the United States.” The House sheet had asked for the records, including connection wrong the White House nether Trump and accusation astir readying and backing for rallies held successful Washington. Among those events was a rally adjacent the White House the greeting of Jan. 6 featuring remarks by Trump, who egged connected a assemblage of thousands protesting Biden's win.

Remus wrote that the documents “shed airy connected events wrong the White House connected and astir January 6 and carnivore connected the Select Committee’s request to recognize the facts underlying the astir superior onslaught connected the operations of the Federal Government since the Civil War.”

The Associated Press obtained a transcript of the missive Friday. It was archetypal reported by NBC News.

Trump responded with his ain missive to the National Archives formally asserting privilege implicit astir 50 documents.

Referring to the Presidential Records Act, Trump wrote, “I hereby marque a protective assertion of constitutionally based privilege with respect to each further records." He said if the committee seeks different accusation helium considers privileged information, “I volition instrumentality each indispensable and due steps to support the Office of the Presidency."

The probe sets up a unsocial clash, pitting the existent medication against its predecessor. Since Biden present holds the bureau of the presidency, helium volition marque the telephone connected immoderate of Trump's privilege claims. And portion Biden has accommodated the archetypal requests from Congress, the White House has said it volition reappraisal caller claims connected a “case by lawsuit basis.”

The last connection whitethorn not remainder with Biden, but the courts, if Trump decides to litigate — which is expected — oregon if the House votes to clasp immoderate of the witnesses successful contempt of Congress. In the lawsuit of a House contempt vote, the Justice Department would past determine whether to prosecute.

If Trump were to triumph a lawsuit to artifact the documents, that would people a melodramatic enlargement of the unwritten enforcement power. But helium is expected to person an uphill battle, arsenic courts person traditionally near questions of enforcement privilege up to the existent White House occupant.

The leaders of the Jan. 6 panel, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, said successful a connection Friday that “we volition not let immoderate witnesser to defy a lawful subpoena oregon effort to tally retired the clock, and we volition swiftly see advancing a transgression contempt of Congress referral.”

The committee's subpoenas had acceptable a Thursday deadline for Bannon, Meadows, Patel and a 4th witness, erstwhile White House communications adjutant Dan Scavino, to supply documents. They besides acceptable dates for interviews adjacent week. Patel said successful a connection that “I tin corroborate that I person responded to the subpoena successful a timely manner” but would not elaborate. A spokesperson for the committee declined to remark connected whether Scavino was cooperating.

In a Sept. 23 missive to Bannon, the committee said helium had been successful interaction with Trump successful the weeks up of the attack, urging him to absorption his efforts successful overturning the predetermination connected Jan. 6, erstwhile Congress certifies electoral votes. The missive noted that Bannon had been quoted connected Jan. 5 arsenic saying “all hellhole is going to interruption escaped tomorrow.”

Bannon’s lawyer, Robert Costello, said successful an Oct. 7 missive to the sheet that until the issues implicit privilege are resolved, “we are incapable to respond to your requests for documents and testimony.” Costello wrote that Bannon is prepared to “comply with the directions of the courts” erstwhile and if they rule.

Costello's missive includes excerpts from a abstracted missive to Bannon by Justin Clark, a lawyer for Trump. Clark says documents and grounds provided to the Jan. 6 sheet could see accusation that is “potentially protected from disclosure by enforcement and different privileges, including among others the statesmanlike communications, deliberative process and lawyer lawsuit privileges.”

The committee has subpoenaed 13 different individuals connected to the readying of Jan. 6 and acceptable deadlines for documents and interviews aboriginal this month.

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Associated Press writers Ben Fox and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.

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