
Trump Loses January 6 Court Battle
November 10, 2021
Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled Tuesday night that the US House may access the Trump White House’s call logs, handwritten notes, video, and other records related to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by Trump loyalists. The collection, which is set for release by the National Archives on Friday, includes more than 700 pages that Trump’s legal team had sought to shield from the House committee that’s investigating the attack.
Trump’s lawyers had argued that the former POTUS has the executive privilege of privacy. However, as Judge Chutkan wrote in her decision, “Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.” She also noted that executive privilege exists for the good of the Republic, not for the individual. Trump’s lawyers plan to appeal the ruling.
Who’s in the January 6 documents?
A sworn declaration from the National Archives indicates that the January 6 documents feature many members of Trump’s circle. Here are three on Trump Watchdogs’ radar:
Mark Meadows
Meadows was working as White House Chief of Staff during the attack. The documents reportedly include three pages of his handwritten notes about January 6. Additionally the National Archives has records of Meadows’ briefings and calls about the Electoral College’s certification work.
Michael Flynn
Flynn was briefly Trump’s National Security Advisor. Following the 2020 election, Flynn stated on Newsmax that Trump should seize every election machine and deploy the US military to re-do the election.
Stephen Miller
Miller, a Trump adviser, helped prepare Trump’s January 6 “Stop the Steal” speech and was at his side during the rally that day.
A draft Executive Order regarding election integrity is also included in the records cache, as are drafts of speeches for Trump to deliver.
Editor’s Note: On Thursday, November 11 a federal appeals court paused the release. The case has been delayed until November 30.