The legal team for former President Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to block the release of certain records to the House of Representatives’ Jan. 6 committee. “The congressional request is untethered from any valid legislative purpose and exceeds the authority of Congress under the Constitution and the Presidential Records Act.,” Trump’s attorneys wrote in a petition.
Trump sued the Jan. 6 committee and the National Archives to stop the White House from allowing the release of documents related to the insurrection. A federal appeals court in the District of Columbia earlier this month denied Trump’s request to block the records, citing a “unique legislative need.” Last month, a federal judge also ruled against Trump.
Trump’s lawyers, in their petition seeking review by the Supreme Court, said the House committee’s “request implicates important constitutional and statutory concerns arising from the Presidential Records Act, separation of powers, and executive privilege.”
“A former President has the right to assert executive privilege, even after his term in office,” the petition argues. “Congress may not rifle through the confidential presidential papers of a former President to meet political objectives or advance a case study.”
