Trump news: House legal team urges court to release Jan 6 documents as Steele source charged
Ex-president’s attorneys appear in federal court to convince skeptical judge to block release of White House documents in Capitol riot probe
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Donald Trump’s legal team has argued in US District Court that records from his presidency demanded by a congressional panel investigating the attacks on the US Capitol by his supporters should not be released.
The former president’s attorneys claimed in federal court on 4 November that the documents, which have been requested by the select committee investigating the insurrection, are covered by executive privilege, a claim the Biden administration has dismissed.
Mr Trump’s attorneys have argued the request from lawmakers is “alarmingly broad” – but a judge appears skeptical.
US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan told his legal team to “dial down the rhetoric” after they characterised the requests from House lawmakers as “unbelievably broad” and a “dump” as she questioned what harm their release would bring to Mr Trump, and why they believe his lawsuit doesn’t undermine President Joe Biden’s own executive function.
Douglas Letter, counsel for the House of Representatives, said the committee’s probe into the events surrounding the 6 January attack on the US Capitol by Mr Trump’s supporters in an attempt to overturn election results marks “one of the most important congressional investigations in the history of our nation that has ever occurred.”
The court hearing arrived on the “anniversary” of the 2020 presidential election, which Mr Trump marked with a bizarre video amplifying his baseless narrative that the results were fraudulent and thanking those involved in a spurious election “audit” in Arizona.
Meanwhile, a key figure in the saga of the Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with Russian government counterparts in 2016 has been arrested by federal authorities for allegedly lying to the FBI.
Igor Danchenko was a core researcher in the production of Christopher Steele’s notorious dossier on Mr Trump’s Russian ties, much of which turned out to be based on unproven rumours and unsubstantiated claims.
He is set to appear in federal court on Thursday afternoon.
Good morning
Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of Donald Trump’s latest attempt to block the release of documents from the last weeks of his administration. Stay tuned for updates and background reading.
Read legal filing from president’s team
In a legal document filed in advance of today’s hearing, Donald Trump’s lawyers claim that the request for emails, memos call logs from around the time of the insurrection is a “naked political ploy” and an attack on the separation of powers. You can read the full document here.
Accused rioters’ jail conditions under scrutiny
Prominent Republican and conservative voices are increasingly complaining about the supposed treatment of 6 January detainees in jail, with some right-wing members of Congress now trying to take matters into their own hands.
Representatives Louie Gohmert of Texas and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, both dogged Trump supporters who have downplayed or sought to explain away the insurrection, this week tried to enter a Washington, DC jail where many alleged insurrectionists are being held, inaccurately claiming that members of Congress have the right to do so. They were not admitted.
Both Ms Greene an d Mr Gohmert were named in a recent Rolling Stone article reporting that groups involved in planning the march on the Capitol met with certain members of Congress and their staff in the days before the riot.
Read more on the prison story here:
Inspection clears DC jail conditions after Capitol riot defendants complain
400 inmates were moved from a secondary building that failed to meet minimum standards for occupation
How much do the electorate care about 6 January?
The Republican victory in Virginia’s gubernatorial election this week astonished Democrats who see the Republican Party’s embrace of Trumpist extremism as a major electoral liability. But as The Bulwark’s Tim Miller argued on MSNBC yesterday, most voters in the broad middle of the electorate have other concerns that outrank the right wing’s attacks on democratic institutions.
First defendant up for sentencing over cop assaults at Capitol
Among the hundreds of people arrested for their alleged part in the riot are several facing charges of assaulting police officers, in some cases very seriously. The first to be found guilty of doing so is Scott Fairlamb, a New Jersey gym owner who was among the first rioters to breach the Capitol.
Government prosecutors are seeking a 44-month sentence, which would be the longest handed down to any rioter thus far. They argue that Mr Fairlamb’s actions incited the crowd to further violence; video from the day showed him holding a police officer’s collapsible baton and shouting, “What (do) patriots do? We f*****g disarm them and then we storm the f*****g Capitol!”
Read more here:
Prosecutors seek 44 months in 1st sentence for riot violence
Federal prosecutors are recommending a prison sentence of nearly four years for a New Jersey gym owner who is on track to be the first person sentenced for assaulting a law enforcement officer during the riot at the U.S. Capitol
What is executive privilege?
Donald Trump’s attempt to stop the Capitol riot committee accessing records from his administration is based on the principle of executive privilege, which he has invoked repeatedly in other cases revolving around his personal and official communications.
Whether or not he actually believes it applies to him, it is a useful means for Mr Trump to take investigators to court and slow down their efforts to get to him.
What is executive privilege, and can Trump use it to keep Jan 6 records secret?
Attempts by US presidents to keep their sensitive discussions sealed stretch back to Washington and Jefferson, but will Donald Trump be able to convince a court?
However, the problem in this case is that because Mr Trump has tested the limits of executive privilege in court before, there are now enough precedents (and not in his favour) to help the latest case move far more quickly.
Report: Trump allies set up legal fund for rally organisers
Rolling Stone’s Hunter Walker reports that Matt and Mercedes Schlapp, two longtime members of the Trump circle, are organising a legal fund to support former Trump aides and associates who have been subpoenaed by the 6 January select committee.
The money will go towards providing counsel for those obliged to testify – but will not be extended to help those arrested for actually taking part in the riot.
The grievance that won’t go away
Successful Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin kept Donald Trump at arm’s length while running, and many Republicans are worried that the former president’s fixation on the supposed theft of the 2020 election could scramble their message as they fight for power at all levels of government (and especially in Congress).
But as the New York Times’s Maggie Haberman writes, there’s little sign Mr Trump is moderating his obsession...
Republicans who attended 6 January rally elected to public office
Numerous individuals who attended Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally before the 6 January riot were on the ballot at Tuesday’s various elections across the country – and several of them won. Three were elected to state legislatures, including in Virginia.
Candidates who attended 'Stop the Steal' rally win races
Three Virginia Republicans who won legislative races had attended former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6 before rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol
Judges prepare to decide how much evidence riot committee will see
Politico’s Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report on the two federal judges who will decide just how much information the 6 January select committee can access over the next few weeks.
The judge presiding over today’s hearing is Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee who has presided over multiple cases involving 6 January defendants – and as the report points out, she has more than once handed down sentences that exceeded what prosecutors requested.
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