Biden Authorizes Release Of 23,000 Trump Emails To Select Committee

@next2godwin
Biden Authorizes Release Of 23,000 Trump Emails To Select Committee

American founding documents on display in National Archives rotunda in Washington, D.C.

The National Archives and Records Administration will hand over the eighth batch of Trump Administration documents to the House panel investigating the Capitol attack after President Biden declined to assert executive privilege over the release.

In a letter dated May 10 but released by the National Archives on Wednesday, the White House waived executive privilege for the emails and other records sought by the House Select Committee, dealing another blow to former President Trump, whose attempt to block such disclosures was upended by the Supreme Court.

In April, the Biden Administration stated that blocking such releases is “not in the best interests of the United States,” given the gravity of the violence that marred January 6, 2020, resulting in hospitalizations and death.

The National Archives is poised to hand 23,000 emails and other records to the select committee, which has already obtained hundreds of pages of Trump White House records, according to Forbes.

The National Archives removed some records from the batch set for release because they weren’t relevant to the select committee’s requests, White House Counsel Dana Remus said in a letter, according to the Washington Post. In addition, some requested materials were set aside because they hadn’t been reviewed yet.

“As to the remaining prioritized records, President Biden has considered the former president’s claims, and I have engaged in consultations with the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice. The President has determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the best interests of the United States, and therefore is not justified,” Remus wrote, reaffirming the position the Biden Administration took in April’s National Archives release.

The National Archives will hand over some documents immediately, according to CNN, and the others, including those sidelined for review, will be sent to the select committee on May 26, writes Acting Archivist Debra Sted Wall, notifying Trump of the White House’s decision.

Although it isn’t immediately clear what documents the latest trove will contain, Trump has repeatedly asserted executive privilege — a President of the United States’ prerogative to shield confidential communications from even the judicial and legislative branches under certain circumstances — in an attempt to block the National Archives from turning crucial records over to the select committee.

If Trump doesn’t get a court to stall the handoff, the select committee will receive the records in time for its public hearings slated for June. However, the former president has not challenged the Archives’ disclosures in court since his stinging loss at the Supreme Court.

However, several Trump allies have refused to cooperate with the select committee, which Trump has accused of being politically motivated despite its bipartisan membership.

The Justice Department charged disgraced former Trump adviser Steve Bannon with contempt of Congress in November, a charge carrying a sentence of up to a year behind bars and a fine of up to $100,000. Last month, the House held two more Trump allies — Peter Navarro, ex-Trump Administration trade adviser, and Daniel Scavino Jr., former Trump White House deputy chief of staff for communications — in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with lawful congressional subpoenas.

Advertising

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

Judge In Trump Georgia Case Says Willis Can Continue Prosecution
Fani Willis , right, in Fulton County courtroom

March 15 (Reuters) - The Georgia judge overseeing Donald Trump's trial on charges of trying to overturn his election defeat in the U.S. state said that lead prosecutor Fani Willis can remain on the case, so long as she removes a deputy she had a personal relationship with.

Keep reading...Show less
Russian Witness Against Biden Received $600K From 'Trump Associates'

Alexander Smirnov, center, leaving courthouse in Las Vegas on February 20, 2024

Photo by Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal

I’ll bet you didn’t know that it is possible in this great big world of ours to live a comfortable life being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for doing basically nothing. Well, not nothing, exactly, but the money you get is unattached to normal stuff we are all familiar with like a job, complete with job-related duties and office hours and a W-2 and maybe even a job title. The money can thus be described by what it is not, which is aboveboard and visible. Instead, this kind of money often ends up in the kinds of accounts said to be “controlled” by you or others, which is to say, accounts which may not, and often do not, have your name on them.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}