.MaddowBlog: Fmr. President Trump didn't just lose his case demanding secrecy for his Jan. 6 materials, he did so in dramatic fashion.
A federal judge on Tuesday sided with the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot by refusing to block the release of scores of White House documents from the Trump administration. The ruling from Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia means the first batch of disputed documents is set to be turned over to the House select committee by Friday.
The federal judge seemed wholly unimpressed with Team Trump's legal arguments, explaining in her ruling that the former president"does not acknowledge the deference owed to the incumbent President's judgment. His position that he may override the express will of the executive branch appears to be premised on the notion that his executive power 'exists in perpetuity.' But Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.
"He retains the right to assert that his records are privileged, but the incumbent President 'is not constitutionally obliged to honor' that assertion. That is because Plaintiff is no longer situated to protect executive branch interests with 'the information and attendant duty of executing the laws in the light of current facts and circumstances.' And he no longer remains subject to political checks against potential abuse of that power.
Chutkan concluded,"Accordingly, the court holds that the public interest lies in permitting — not enjoining — the combined will of the legislative and executive branches to study the events that led to and occurred on January 6, and to consider legislation to prevent such events from ever occurring again."about how we arrived at this point, it was several weeks ago when the bipartisan House committee investigating the Jan.
In fact, the former president and his team have tried to exert"executive privilege" to block the select committee's requests. As NBC News recently
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Trump argues temporary block of documents causes 'no harm' to Jan 6 investigationTrump's team only has until Friday at 6 p.m. to successfully stop the documents from being released.
Read more »
Appeals court grants Trump delay in releasing records to Jan. 6 probeA federal appeals court granted Trump's request to temporarily halt the release of White House records to lawmakers investigating the deadly Capitol invasion.
Read more »
Court pauses handover of Trump White House records to Jan. 6 committeeAn appeals court has put a temporary pause on the handover of records from the Trump White House to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Read more »
Appeals court temporarily blocks Jan. 6 committee from obtaining Trump White House recordsFederal appeals court grants request from former President Trump to temporarily block the National Archives from turning over his White House records to Jan. 6 committee.
Read more »
Trump defends supporters who threatened 'to hang Mike Pence' on Jan. 6: 'It's common sense'In an interview with ABC News' Jonathan Karl at Mar-a-Lago weeks after the deadly Capitol riot, the former president vehemently defended supporters who threatened 'to hang' his former vice president.
Read more »
Trump defends Jan. 6 rioters 'hang Mike Pence' chant in newly-released audioFormer President Trump defended rioters’ chants of “hang Mike Pence” during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, saying it was understandable because they were angry the election hadn't been overturned, according to audio of an interview with Trump in March.
Read more »