Will the House of Representatives committee of inquiry one day be able to access the documents it is asking for in an attempt to shed light on the role of Donald Trump in the attack on Capitol Hill by his supporters on January 6? Proof of their importance, the battle over the disclosure of these 770 pages, which the former president seeks to block, seems to never end.
Their publication was ordered on Tuesday by a federal judge on behalf of “Public interest” to understand “The events leading up to January 6”. But, seized by the lawyers of the billionaire, an appeals court declared, Thursday, November 11, to have granted a “Administrative injunction” and set the debates for November 30. The court, composed of three judges, clarified that this decision “Must in no case be interpreted as a decision on the merits” of the case.
On January 6, thousands of Donald Trump supporters gathered in Washington as Congress certified the victory of Democratic rival Joe Biden in the November 2020 presidential election. The former real estate mogul addressed to the crowd, hammering, baselessly, that the election had been “Stolen”. Several hundred demonstrators then launched an assault on the temple of American democracy, sowing chaos and violence even in the hemicycle.
Biden gave his consent
Joe Biden has already agreed to the publication of some 770 pages of documents which are kept at the National Archives, part of which was due to be sent to Congress on Friday. They include the files of former close advisers to Donald Trump, as well as the Daily White House newspaper – an account of his activities, trips, briefings and phone calls.
Other documents the former president doesn’t want Congress to see include memos to his former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, a handwritten note on the events of January 6, and a draft text of his speech during the “Save America” rally, which preceded the attack.
Donald Trump, who denies any responsibility for the coup, invokes the right of the executive to keep certain information secret to block the disclosure of the minutes of his meetings or the list of his phone calls.