Politics - News Analysis

Here are the Documents Trump is Desperately Trying to Hide From the Jan. 6 Panel and There are A LOT of Them

If the events were legal, why hide facts?

Once again, Donald Trump is attempting to invoke some sort of privilege in order to block investigators from looking at wrongdoing by his followers.

In court documents filed early Saturday, the White House Liaison for the National Archives said that Trump was seeking to withhold nearly 800 pages of potential evidence in the House investigation of the events of January 6.

Trump supporters stormed the Capitol that day, entering the building, causing massive damage, and leaving an aftermath that included the loss of 6 lives.

Among the items Trump has asked to block are presidential diaries, call transcripts, schedules, and even communications with his advisors. These documents are essential to the investigation, considering the focus of Trump’s second impeachment trial. In that case, he was charged with and convicted of inciting the attack on the Capitol. Call logs and transcripts of meetings with his advisors could help bring into focus just how extensive White House and GOP coordination with the “protesters” really was.

It’s not the first time Trump has obstructed an investigation. Most famously, just 110 days into his presidency he actually fired FBI James Comey in order to stop the Russia investigation, then bragged about having done so in an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt on live television.

Now Trump has even more to be worried about than his own big mouth.

The first grouping of records that the former president is seeking to withhold include notes from his chief of staff at the time, Mark Meadows, as well as some of his own prepared remarks and speeches.

But the second group of records covers many of the talking points used by press secretary Kayleigh McEnany regarding “election fraud” — of which there has never been any evidence — and a draft of Trump’s speech before the crowd that eventually made its way to the Capitol.

These records, in particular, could prove to be crucial in establishing claims of incitement and coordination between the White House and the rioters, as well as detailing specific statements that led to specific crimes committed by the angry mob.

Trump has stated that he would not invoke executive privilege in this case, but current White House counsel Dana Remus says that he could not do so anyway.

Good luck, Donald. You’re going to need it.

meet the author

Andrew is a dark blue speck in deep red Central Washington, writing with the conviction of 18 years at the keyboard and too much politics to even stand. When not furiously stabbing the keys on breaking news stories, he writes poetry, prose, essays, haiku, lectures, stories for grief therapy, wedding ceremonies, detailed instructions on making doughnuts from canned biscuit dough (more sugar than cinnamon — duh), and equations to determine the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow. A girlfriend, a dog, two cats, and two birds round out the equation, and in his spare time, Drewbear likes to imagine what it must be like to have spare time.

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