Former President Donald Trump filed an appeal on Wednesday, the day after a federal judge rejected his attempt to assert executive privilege and prevent the National Archives from releasing documents to the House committee on the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, USA Today reports.
Trump attorney Jesse Binnall has filed an appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and argued that unless prevented, the National Archives and Records Administration will release these documents on Friday. USA Today notes that this case will likely end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan denied a preliminary injunction being sought by Trump’s attorneys, noting in her ruling that President Joe Biden is "best positioned" to decide whether or not to waive executive privilege when it comes to the documents that are being sought by the House committee investigating the violent protest at the Capitol on Jan. 6. She also wrote that presidential privilege "exists for the benefit of the Republic, not any individual."
"At bottom, this is a dispute between a former and incumbent President," Chutkan wrote. "And the Supreme Court has already made clear that in such circumstances, the incumbent’s view is accorded greater weight."
She said that Trump "does not acknowledge the deference owed to the incumbent President’s judgment," and goes on to add that "Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff [Trump] 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."
The judge went on to say 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."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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