2022-01-20 at 6:42 AM UTC
Law & Crime
Supreme Court, Except for Justice Thomas, Rejects Donald Trump’s Bid to Block Release of Records to the Jan. 6 Committee
Adam Klasfeld
The Supreme Court rejected former President Donald Trump’s request to block the release of his administration’s records to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Trump’s application for Supreme Court review, presented before Chief Justice John Roberts, was set aside Wednesday by the high court in fewer than two pages.
“The questions whether and in what circumstances a former President may obtain a court order preventing disclosure of privileged records from his tenure in office, in the face of a determination by the incumbent President to waive the privilege, are unprecedented and raise serious and substantial concerns,” the unsigned order states.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit noted that Trump is a former president, reminding him “we have one president at a time.” The appellate court went on to reject Trump’s claims “under any of the tests [he] advocated.”
“Because the Court of Appeals concluded that President Trump’s claims would have failed even if he were the incumbent, his status as a former President necessarily made no difference to the court’s decision,” the order continues. “Any discussion of the Court of Appeals concerning President Trump’s status as a former President must therefore be regarded as nonbinding dicta.”
Only Justice Clarence Thomas publicly noted that he would have granted Trump’s application.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote separately to disagree with the D.C. Circuit’s suggestion that former presidents cannot invoke executive privilege.
“The Court of Appeals suggested that a former President may not successfully invoke the Presidential communications privilege for communications that occurred during his Presidency, at least if the current President does not support the privilege claim,” Kavanaugh wrote in a statement. “As this Court’s order today makes clear, those portions of the Court of Appeals’ opinion were dicta and should not be considered binding precedent going forward.”
His remarks on that point far exceed the length of the court’s denial of Trump’s challenge.
“A former President must be able to successfully invoke the Presidential communications privilege for communications that occurred during his Presidency, even if the current President does not support the privilege claim,” Kavanaugh opined. “Concluding otherwise would eviscerate the executive privilege for Presidential communications.”
On Oct. 18, Trump sued the Jan. 6 Committee, its chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the National Archives and Records Administration, and its archivist David Ferriero, asserting various privileges over the sought-after files. Trump asserted executive privilege over 770 pages of documents, including 46 pages of records from the files of former chief of staff Mark Meadows, ex-senior adviser Stephen Miller, and ex-deputy counsel Patrick Philbin, according to court filings.
Trump also reportedly opposed releasing the White House Daily Diary and a call log between him and then-Vice President Mike Pence concerning Jan. 6.
Trump’s theories were swiftly rebuked at every level of the federal judiciary. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan told Trump that “Presidents are not kings, and plaintiff is not president.”
aldra
JIDF Controlled Opposition
Originally posted by Sudo
I thought he was a clone or something because he has different earlobes. Wouldn't the better Biden be a better communicator? That's what I would look for in a clone: a slightly better version
can't clone prime rib from
roadkill
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2022-01-20 at 6:48 PM UTC
Pretty obvious to anyone with an IQ over 50 that Trump is not scripted. That lets st|1 out.
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2022-01-20 at 7:20 PM UTC
Yeah, but Rump had to be brought to his position kicking and screaming.
He had to have his ego stroked first by Biden praising him for "Operation Warp Speed".
He had to be "too cool" to be seen wearing a mask.
He had to get all of his shots in private.
2022-01-20 at 8:23 PM UTC
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2022-01-20 at 8:25 PM UTC
Originally posted by stl1
He's anti-Democracy.
/thumbsup What a guy!
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