White House Declines Trump Request To Assert Privilege On Jan 6 Documents

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The White House has formally declined a request by Donald Trump to assert executive privilege and prevent the select committee investigating the Janauary 6 insurrection at the US Capitol building.

SurgeZirc UK reported earlier that the Joe Biden administration informed the National Archives on Friday that it would not assert executive privilege over a tranche of documents related to January 6 from the Trump White House.

It is understood that when the White House, through its counsel sent its first letter on Friday, former President Trump was yet to submit his own objections.

The latest reaction from the White House echoes as a reaffirmation of the position of the president who has refused to assert executive privilege over a subset of documents Mr Trump wishes concealed.

President Biden has insisted that the investigation of the January 6 insurrection is about holding those who swore to uphold the constitution of the United States accountable for their actions.

The letter from the White House Counsel, Dana Remus to the Chief Archivist of the United States David Ferriero, sent last Friday and released on Wednesday, prayed that the documents be released “30 days after your notification to the former President, absent any intervening court order.”

After the White House made its position clear, former president Trump had written a letter of his own, prevailing on the National Archives to decline the White House request on the basis of executive privilege.

In the letter released Wednesday, Remus wrote: “President Biden has considered the former President’s assertion, and I have engaged in additional consultations with the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice. For the same reasons described in [sic] earlier letter, the President maintains his conclusion 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 provided to the White House on September 8, 2021.”

“Accordingly, President Biden does not uphold the former President’s assertion of privilege.”

According to legal experts, only a sitting President (Biden) has the power to assert privilege over communications or documents covered by executive privilege; and, given that a greater percentage of the committee members is made up of Democrats, remains to be seen if the former president can dig himself out of the fox hole.

The post White House Declines Trump Request To Assert Privilege On Jan 6 Documents appeared first on SurgeZirc UK.

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