The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday brought a formal end to former President Donald Trump's request to block the release of White House record
On August 25, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot requested records from the National Archives and Records Administration, under the authority of the Presidential Records and Recorded Materials Act. The Select Committee sought records from the Offices of the President and Vice President, specifically:
"...written communications, calendar entries, videos, photographs, or other media relating to [Donald Trump]'s January 6 speech, the January 6 rally and subsequent march, the violence at the Capitol, and the response within the White House ... materials from specific time periods relating to any planning by the White House and others regarding the January 6 electoral count; preparations for rallies leading up to the January 6 violence; information [Trump] received regarding the election outcome; [Trump]'s public remarks regarding the election outcome and the validity of the election system more broadly; and ... documents and communications of [Trump] and certain of his advisors relating to the transfer of power and obligation to follow the rule of law, including with respect to actual or potential changes in personnel at certain executive branch agencies, and relating to foreign influence in that election."
President Joe Biden formally elected not to assert executive privilege over any of the documents. Trump, however, insisted that he still retained executive privilege--despite no longer being the Executive--and on October 18 sued in federal court to prevent release of the records. On November 9, the court denied Trump's claims, "because Plaintiff is unlikely to succeed on the merits of his claims or suffer irreparable harm, and because a balance of the equities and public interest bear against granting his requested relief."
