WASHINGTON – On news today of a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit—ruling against former President Trump’s attempt to block the release of White House communications related to the events of January 6 by the National Archives to the bipartisan Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack—Constitutional Accountability Center President Elizabeth Wydra said:

This case was straightforward. A unanimous appellate panel today correctly rejected the incredibly weak argument that former President Trump constructed for keeping these records from Congress.

Echoing arguments made in our brief on behalf of former Department of Justice officials who served in Republican administrations, the court wrote, “The very essence of the Article I power is legislating, and so there would seem to be few, if any, more imperative interests squarely within Congress’s wheelhouse than ensuring the safe and uninterrupted conduct of its constitutionally assigned business.”

To this end, the court also explained that the bipartisan January 6 committee “is investigating a singular event in this nation’s history, in which there is a sufficient factual predicate for inferring that former President Trump and his advisors played a materially relevant role.”

The attack on the Capitol almost a year ago resulted in five deaths, at least 140 assaults, and the most significant destruction of the Capitol complex since the War of 1812—all to subvert our constitutional democracy. The court today promptly and rightly ruled that Trump should not be able to prevent Congress from seeing the Trump White House’s communications related to its role in inciting the events that occurred on that dreadful day in American history.

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Resources:

CAC case page in Trump v. Thompson: https://www.theusconstitution.org/litigation/trump-v-thompson-january-6-select-committee-litigation/

CAC Release: “Former Department of Justice Officials who Served in Republican Administrations Support Congressional Request of January 6 Records,” November 22, 2021: https://www.theusconstitution.org/news/release-former-department-of-justice-officials-who-served-in-republican-administrations-support-congressional-request-of-january-6-records/

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Constitutional Accountability Center is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history. Visit CAC’s website at www.theusconstitution.org.

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