SCOTUS won’t review Trump’s bid to block release of documents to Jan. 6 House committee

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U.S. Supreme Court SCOTUS won't review Trump's bid to block release of documents to Jan. 6 House committee

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 22, 2022, 12:17 pm CST

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Former President Donald Trump in August 2019. Photo from Shutterstock.

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear former President Donald Trump’s bid to keep presidential records from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.

The high court refused to hear the case Tuesday, report Reuters and Law.com.

Trump wanted the Supreme Court to decide whether the records request violates the Constitution or Presidential Records Act.

“A former president has the right to assert executive privilege, even after his term of office,” the cert petition said. The cert petition also claimed that the records request was invalid because it was “untethered from any valid legislative purpose.”

“At stake is the ability of presidents—past, current and future—to rely upon executive privilege, separation of powers and the Presidential Records Act to protect confidential presidential records of deliberations from premature production to political rivals,” the cert petition said.

President Joe Biden had waived Trump’s privilege claims.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit had ruled against Trump in December. The Supreme Court rejected Trump’s earlier emergency request to block the release of the records last month.

At that time, the Supreme Court said the D.C. Circuit had concluded that Trump’s privilege claims would have failed even if he was currently in office. That means that any discussion about Trump’s status as a former president must be regarded as nonbinding dicta, the Supreme Court said in its Jan. 19 order.

The case is Trump v. Thompson.

See also:

ABAJournal.com: “Does executive privilege still protect Trump after his term ends? Fight brews over congressional subpoenas”

ABAJournal.com: “Trump’s executive privilege bid could be hindered because of his use of campaign funds”

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