President Joe Biden gestures as he takes questions from members of the media after speaking about the bipartisan infrastructure bill from the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021, in Washington. Vice President Kamala Harris listens at left. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Evan Vucci/AP

Biden authorizes transfer of more Trump records to Jan. 6 committee

Ryan King May 11, 05:52 PMMay 11, 05:52 PM Video Embed

President Joe Biden authorized the National Archives and Records Administration to turn over a trove of records from the Trump administration to the House committee investigating the Capitol riot.

The White House declined to assert executive privilege over an eighth batch of documents the Jan. 6 panel requested in a letter to the National Archives, the Washington Post reported. It is unclear what kinds of documents were included in the recent trove.

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“As to the remaining prioritized records, President Biden has considered the former president’s claims, and I have engaged in consultations with the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice. The President has determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the best interests of the United States, and therefore is not justified,” White House counsel Dana Remus wrote in the letter.

The documents are expected to be sent to the Jan. 6 committee by May 26, according to the report. So far, the National Archives has turned over hundreds of documents to the committee.

Trump had tried to shield drafts of speeches, presidential diaries, schedules, and information about the events surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. In January, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s plea to block the committee from receiving documents from his White House days from the National Archives.

The Washington Examiner reached out to the National Archives and the Jan. 6 committee.

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Trump is facing scrutiny from the House Oversight Committee and the Justice Department over his handling of document preservation during his White House days. The Presidential Records Act of 1978 requires presidential administrations to preserve key documents, but Trump reportedly ripped up documents and the National Archives found classified material that may have been improperly stored. In January, officials from the National Archives reportedly acquired 15 boxes from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago that were supposed to have been turned over to the agency after his departure from the White House.

The Jan. 6 committee is gearing up for public hearings in June as its investigation nears its conclusion and works to draft a final report for release in the fall. The first public hearing is scheduled for June 9. Throughout its inquiry, the committee has conducted nearly 1,000 depositions and interviews and amassed roughly 120,000 documents.

© 2022 Washington Examiner

Originally appeared at Washington Examiner

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