US Appeals Court Temporarily Halts Release of Trump White House Docs to Jan. 6 Committee

On Wednesday, the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol claimed that it required former US President Donald Trump's White House records to preserve democracy, complete its probe, and recommend "remedial" legislation. The docs requested include visitor logs, speech drafts, and White House call logs.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has issued an administrative injunction that will temporarily block the House Select Committee from obtaining Trump's White House records from the National Archives.

Additionally, the court announced that oral arguments on the release of said documents will occur on November 30. The three-judge panel includes Judges Patricia Millett, Robert Wilkins, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Millet and Wilkins were appointed by former US President Barack Obama, and Jackson was appointed by US President Joe Biden.

Trump's legal team argued that the Select Committee's request was illegitimate and "unprecedented in their breadth and scope." Attorneys have also raised that executive privilege should be applicable, as Trump was in office at the time of the deadly riot.

"In this appeal, the Court will consider novel and important constitutional issues of first impression concerning separation of powers, presidential records, and executive privilege," Trump's attorneys wrote in their Thursday filing.

The same argument failed in lower courts, leading some to suspect that it may fail here, as well.

US District Judge Tanya Chutkan has twice ruled against Trump's request for a preliminary injunction. Earlier this week, Chutkan emphasized that "Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff 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," wrote the District Judge in a Tuesday filing.

Thursday's administrative injunction comes nearly 24 hours before the Select Committee's November 12, 6 p.m. deadline concerning the White House records.