The former president relied on the “executive right” to keep some information secret, to prevent his former aides from providing evidence to Congress, in an escalation of the Republican pole’s efforts to obstruct the work of investigators. The challenge is expected to lead to a drawn-out court battle, which will test Congress’ constitutional authority to investigate the executive branch.
Thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol nine months ago in an attempt to reverse Joe Biden’s election victory. This act came after an impassioned speech by Trump on allegations of electoral fraud.
Congressional investigators are looking for testimony from officials who can explain what Trump knew about the attack and what he did while it was happening. Since late August, the National Archives has been sending Biden and Trump massive documents requested by investigators, giving them 30 days to review the material.
The Supreme Court has ruled that the country’s president can keep certain documents and conversations confidential in order to allow for more frank dialogues with his advisors. However, no court has issued a ruling to extend this privilege to previous presidents.
For now, the current president, Joe Biden, has the last word on the matter, and he has already allowed the first batch of documents to be released, despite the objections of his predecessor.
While Trump appears likely to lose the case, the attempt could delay the release of the files by months or years, threatening to delay reporting the attack to the dates that have the most electoral impact.
