Supreme Court refuses Trump request to block documents from Jan. 6 committee

The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected former President Donald Trump's attempt to block the release of records to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Trump's lawyers argued the records from his time in the White House should be protected by executive privilege. The House panel asked for the documents — including drafts of speeches, call and visitor logs, and handwritten notes — in order to gain a clear picture of Trump's actions and mindset before, during, and after the Capitol riot. The records are being kept by the National Archives, and President Biden has said he will not block their release.

In an unsigned order, the Supreme Court said that "the questions whether and in what circumstances a former president may obtain a court order preventing disclosure of privileged records from his tenure in office, in the face of a determination by the incumbent president to waive the privilege, are unprecedented and raise serious and substantial concerns. Because the Court of Appeals concluded that President Trump's claims would have failed even if he were the incumbent, his status as a former president necessarily made no difference to the court's decision."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Justice Clarence Thomas was the only member of the court to say he would have granted Trump's request to shield the documents, but did not go into detail as to why, Politico reports.