Federal judge refuses Trump request to block Jan. 6 records

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday rejected former President Donald Trump’s request to block the release of documents to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said Congress had a strong public interest in obtaining records that could shed light on a violent insurrection mounted by the former president’s supporters. She added that President Joe Biden had the authority to waive executive privilege over the documents, despite Trump’s assertions otherwise. Barring a court order, the National Archives plans to turn over Trump’s records to the committee by Friday. But Trump’s lawyers promised an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The case will likely head eventually to the U.S. Supreme Court. “At bottom, this is a dispute between a former and incumbent President,” Chutkan wrote. “And the Supreme Court has already made clear that … the incumbent’s view is accorded greater weight.” Trump “does not acknowledge the deference owed” to Biden’s judgment as the current president, Chutkan said. She noted examples of past presidents declining to assert executive privilege and rejected what she said was Trump’s claim that executive privilege “exists in perpetuity.” According to an earlier court filing, the records include call logs, drafts of remarks and speeches, and handwritten notes from Trump’s then-chief of staff, Mark Meadows. There are also copies of “a draft Executive Order on the topic of election integrity,” the National Archives has said.