Biden will not use executive privilege to hide Trump's records from Jan. 6 probe

President Biden will not invoke executive privilege to shield former President Donald Trump's records from the Jan. 6 select committee, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Friday.

"The president has already concluded that it would not be appropriate to assert executive privilege," Psaki said, per Reuters. "And so, we will respond promptly to these questions as they arise." Trump reportedly has yet to ask Biden to protect any records, notes Politico.

The White House has been leaning toward releasing to Congress information regarding the whereabouts of Trump and his aides on Jan. 6, The Washington Post reports. The ex-president has said he will cite "executive privilege" to block any requests, "seeking protection from a legal theory that has allowed past presidents and their aides to avoid or delay congressional oversight for decades," writes Politico. Once the documents are delivered, Trump has "30 days to approve or deny the release." If he objects, Biden still has final say on the matter, per Politico.

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On Thursday, the House select committee subpoenaed several of Trump's ex-aides and advisers, including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino.

Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.