Supreme Court Rejects Trump Request To Keep Records From Jan. 6 Committee

The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the House committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, may obtain White House records related to the insurrection, foiling President Donald Trump s attempts to stop their release.

Clarence Thomas was the only justice to dissent. The other eight, including the three nominated to the court by Trump, agreed that the former presidents attempt to invoke executive privilege was not applicable and that the hundreds of pages of documents maintained by the National Archives can be used in the committees investigation.

The committee later tweeted that within hours, it had already begun to receive records that the former President had hoped to keep hidden.

The Supreme Courts action tonight is a victory for the rule of law & American democracy.

The Select Committee has already begun to receive records that the former President had hoped to keep hidden & we look forward to additional productions regarding this important information

January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) January 20, 2022","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"January 6th Committee","author_url":"https://twitter.com/January6thCmte","cache_age":86400,"description":"The Supreme Courts action tonight is a victory for the rule of law & American democracy.The Select Committee has already begun to receive records that the former President had hoped to keep hidden & we look forward to additional productions regarding this important information January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) January 20, 2022\n\n","options":{"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"January 6th Committee on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/January6thCmte/status/1483976803849015297","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"61e89b91e4b0d8b6657420b4","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/supreme-court-jan-6-capitol-attack-trump-records_n_61e89b91e4b0d8b6657420b4","entryTagsList":"donald-trump,supreme-court,capitol-riot,@developing","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"us-news,crime","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/33c5806b-e446-485b-9fae-320b5ef590ee/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":5},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"61e89b91e4b0d8b6657420b4","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"Supreme Court","slug":"supreme-court","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/supreme-court","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/supreme-court","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/supreme-court"},"relegenceSubjectId":4941764,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Supreme Court","slug":"supreme-court","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/supreme-court"},{"name":"capitol riot","slug":"capitol-riot","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/capitol-riot","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/capitol-riot","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/capitol-riot"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"Capitol Riot","slug":"capitol-riot","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/capitol-riot"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

The Supreme Courts action tonight is a victory for the rule of law & American democracy.

The Select Committee has already begun to receive records that the former President had hoped to keep hidden & we look forward to additional productions regarding this important information
January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) January 20, 2022

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who authored the majority opinion agreeing not to intervene with lower court rulings on the matter, wrote that while it is reasonable for former presidents to keep some records private, It could be argued that the strength of a privilege claim should diminish to some extent as the years pass after a former Presidents term in office.

Trump, whose supporters carried out the attack on the Capitol immediately after he gave a speech insisting the 2020 election was stolen from him, has fought the bipartisan committee on these records since its members began seeking them last August. President Joe Biden has refused to cooperate with Trump on the matter and repeatedly denied Trumps requests.

President Biden has determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the best interests of the United States, White House general counsel Dana Remus said in October. Accordingly, President Biden does not uphold the former presidents assertion of privilege.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

Trump has also called on his allies who have been subpoenaed by the committee not to comply with the orders, and several of them face legal consequences as a result. The latest subpoenas cover some of Trumps closest advisers, including Rudy Giuliani, and the legal team that pursued lawsuits attempting to overturn the 2020 election results.