Former President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 uprising at the U.S. Capitol, citing executive privilege and rejecting the concept that the current president can waive executive privilege for previous presidents.
? MEMO: Lawsuit Filed to Defend Executive Privilege, U.S. Constitution ? pic.twitter.com/0pxOkfI75B
— Taylor Budowich (@TayFromCA) October 18, 2021
The House committee has subpoenaed Trump for documents and other evidence relating to the investigation regarding Trump’s alleged involvement in the protests at the Capitol that day.
Trump’s communication director, Taylor Budowich, called the committee a “sham,” saying that the investigation has no legitimate legislative purpose, but is cover for polling that “shows Biden’s approval cratering and 2022 [mid-term election] slipping out of Democrats’ grasp.”
Team trump cited “the surrender in Afghanistan, skyrocketing inflation, a border crisis, crippling COVID mandates, and a stalled legislative agenda,” for the investigation.
In any event, the committee may have few options to enforce the subpoena, as contempt of Congress is rarely prosecuted and would be novel for a former president under current policy.
“The Justice Department has long taken the position that it has the discretion to determine whether to prosecute,” said NBC News. “And since at least 1984, it has determined that the criminal contempt of Congress law cannot constitutionally be applied to a presidential claim of executive privilege.”
President Joe Biden has weighed in on the subject saying that he thinks that case doesn’t qualify under executive privilege.
Biden has encouraged the National Archives to cooperate with the House committee’s subpoena, which is the impetus for the Trump lawsuit.
“The Committee’s request amounts to nothing less than a vexatious, illegal fishing expedition openly endorsed by Biden to unconstitutionally investigate President Trump and his administration,” the lawsuit said according to Time.
Among the items that Budowich cited that Trump objects to is polling data by the Trump campaign from Florida.
“This committee exposed itself as a sham by requesting documents which serve no legitimate legislative purpose—what does President Trump’s campaign polling data from Florida have to do with an investigation into January 6th?,” asked Budowich.
