Call logs, speech drafts among records Trump is trying to block from Jan. 6 investigators
The former president’s effort to suppress more than 750 pages of records is far broader than previously known, a new court filing reveals.
Donald Trump is seeking to prevent Jan. 6 investigators from accessing daily presidential diaries, drafts of election-related speeches, logs of his phone calls, handwritten notes and files of top aides, the National Archives revealed in a Saturday morning court filing.
According to the National Archives, the former president has sought to block about 750 pages out of nearly 1,600 identified by officials as relevant to the Jan. 6 investigation. Among them are hundreds of pages from “multiple binders of the former press secretary [Kayleigh McEnany] which is made up almost entirely of talking points and statements related to the 2020 election,” according to the court filing.
The filing details are the clearest indication yet of what Trump is trying to withhold from congressional investigators seeking information about his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and his activities on the day that a mob of violent Trump supporters stormed the Capitol and disrupted the peaceful transfer of power.
The National Archives indicated that many files were drawn from the systems of key Trump aides including former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, adviser Stephen Miller and deputy counsel Patrick Philbin.
Other documents include “draft text of a presidential speech for the January 6, 2021, Save America March; a handwritten list of potential or scheduled briefings and telephone calls concerning election issues; and a draft Executive Order concerning election integrity … a draft proclamation honoring deceased Capitol Police officers Brian Sicknick and Howard Liebengood, and associated e-mails from the Office of the Executive Clerk, which relate to the Select Committee’s interest in the White House’s response to the Capitol attack.”
“These records all relate to the events on or about January 6, and may assist the Select Committee’s investigation into that day, including what was occurring at the White House immediately before, during and after the January 6 attack,” Justice Department attorneys, acting on behalf of Archivist David Ferriero, wrote in the filing.
The documents have been unearthed in four distinct tranches identified by the National Archives since the Jan. 6 select committee requested them in late August. Trump sued to block release on Oct. 15 and has asked a federal judge to issue an emergency order blocking the National Archives from transmitting them to the committee.
The National Archives submitted its filing in response to Trump’s lawsuit seeking an emergency court order to block Ferriero from transmitting them to Congress. Trump has claimed that disclosing the documents would destroy executive privilege and present an unprecedented incursion on the executive branch.
But the archives rejected Trump’s legal arguments, emphasizing that the Jan. 6 committee’s requests were tailored specifically to its investigation, and that President Joe Biden had already made the “manifestly reasonable” decision to reject Trump’s claims of privilege.
“Even assuming the applicability of executive privilege, however, the documents may assist the Select Committee in understanding efforts to communicate with the American public, including those who attacked the Capitol on January 6, on the subjects of alleged voter fraud, election security, and other topics concerning the 2020 election,” according to the filing.
Trump’s effort to suppress more than 750 pages of records is far broader than previously known, and includes documents from three separate tranches identified by the National Archives since early October in response to a request from the Jan. 6 select committee.
In its own filing, the Jan. 6 select committee says a federal court must reject Trump’s effort to stymie its investigation or risk leaving future elections subject to abuse.
The panel argues that Trump and his allies’ continuing effort to undermine confidence in federal elections reinforces the committee’s need to access Trump’s White House records to understand his attempt to overturn the 2020 election results.
“The urgency of the work cannot be overstated,” House Counsel Doug Letter writes in the 52-page legal brief delivered Friday night to Judge Tanya Chutkan. “The threat that brought the attack on January 6 is ongoing. Those who falsely claimed the election was stolen (including Mr. Trump) continue to do so.”
……..
- Discussion
-
Donald Trump is seeking to prevent Jan. 6 investigators from accessing daily presidential diaries, drafts of election-related speeches, logs of his phone calls, handwritten notes and files of top aides https://t.co/TS9bPoNWzX
— POLITICO (@politico) October 30, 2021
The depravity is something. Pence aide sent #Eastman an email during the riot telling him they were under siege, and Eastman responded by blaming Pence and *mocking* the attack, putting "siege" in quotes.
“The ‘siege’ is because YOU and your boss did not do what was necessary…" pic.twitter.com/UnPxWQKJGT
— Paula Chertok🗽 (@PaulaChertok) October 30, 2021
Key point: Eastman’s email to Jacob shows context of Trump’s 1/6 statement to McCarthy. Trump wasn’t just bitching. He was continuing to exert pressure to block certification, as part of a coordinated effort — this time using the violence of which both he and Eastman were aware. https://t.co/Q2gOStZX7q
— Will Saletan (@saletan) October 30, 2021
But I guess we were supposed to take him seriously but not literally when he tried to deny it https://t.co/dw0McK6zDr
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) October 30, 2021
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.