/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/618d8c49fef2e87d4781c9ad/0x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=3499&cropY1=214&cropY2=2184 "Court Blocks Release Of Jan. 6 Documents After Trump Appeal")
Topline
A D.C. appeals court temporarily barred the federal government on Thursday from releasing a trove of Trump-era documents to a House committee investigating the Capitol riot, as former President Donald Trump fights to keep the records secret.
President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally for Republican Senate candidate Mike Braun on … [+]
Key Facts
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an administrative injunction telling the National Archives and Records Administration not to hand over documents Trump is seeking to withhold from the January 6 select committee, “pending further order of this court.”
This temporary ruling prevents the National Archives from turning over an initial round of documents to the select committee on Friday, as planned.
What To Watch For
The appellate judges set oral arguments for November 30. Before that, Trump’s legal team will file a brief by Tuesday, and the government will get six days to respond.
Key Background
The January 6 committee asked the National Archives to turn over a range of Trump-era White House documents, including communication records and details on Trump’s baseless vote-rigging allegations. It’s part of a sweeping probe of both the attack on the Capitol building and Trump’s months-long push to overturn his election loss. Trump argued some of the documents are protected by “executive privilege,” a concept that allows presidents to keep certain internal communications and records secret, but President Joe Biden denied Trump’s request to block their release. As a result, Trump filed a lawsuit last month seeking to stop the House committee from receiving a set of documents, arguing their request was overly broad and part of a “vexatious, illegal fishing expedition.”
