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Wednesday, March 27, 2024 | Back issues
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Trump uses Democrat’s interview against him in new filing to block Jan. 6 records

A Washington Post interview with Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson has become the new sticking point in the former president’s battle to shield Jan. 6 records from congressional oversight.

WASHINGTON (CN) — Former President Donald Trump staked out a new claim in his crusade to block Congress from accessing his Jan. 6 records on Wednesday afternoon, asking the Supreme Court to review a Washington Post article that Trump says proves the committee investigating the Capitol riot is nothing but another political witch hunt.

The article — published hours after the former president asked the high court to review his case — contains an interview from the committee’s chairman, Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, where he says the committee wants information that could determine if they will make a criminal referral to the Justice Department. According to the Post’s reporting, Thompson is particularly interested in different versions of a video Trump recorded asking his supporters to stand down. The committee thinks this information might lead to answers on why it took the former president so long to call off his supporters. 

In the new filing, Trump claims these statements prove the committee is acting outside its authority. 

“Now the Washington Post has confirmed what was already apparent — the Committee is indeed seeking any excuse to refer a political rival for criminal charges, and they are using this investigation to do so,” the brief states. 

The former president is attempting to block the committee’s access to almost 800 pages of his documents concerning the Capitol riot after President Joe Biden refused to assert executive privilege over the documents. The White House and the committee have since come to an agreement to keep some of the requested documents shielded for national security concerns. Trump asked the Supreme Court to review his case after facing defeats in the district court and the D.C. Circuit.

A criminal referral from Congress to the Justice Department would not be unique but a referral against a former president would be historic. Whether the department pursued charges would be up to a federal prosecutor, not Congress. 

Most referrals from Congress inform the department of crimes they are unaware of. Trump’s claim is that the committee is using its authority to gather information to give to the Justice Department concerning events they already know happened. 

“The committee cannot make a mockery of Congress’s constitutional mandate that its requests and investigation be supported by a ‘valid legislative purpose,’” the brief states. “It cannot embark on what is essentially a law enforcement investigation with the excuse that it might legislate based on information it turns up in the course of the exploration.” 

Trump also claims that other committee members — namely Representatives Adam Schiff and Adam Kinzinger — have been overt in their vendetta against him. 

“A vague recitation of some amorphous legislative goal is insufficient to meet statutory or constitutional muster, especially since committee members have been speaking so freely about their true goals of exposure for its own sake and criminal prosecution,” the brief states. 

Trump has filed a writ of certiorari asking the Supreme Court to take up his case and an emergency stay petition asking the court to keep his records secret while proceedings continue. 

Follow @KelseyReichmann
Categories / Government, Media, National, Politics

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