11/12/21, 10:58 AM Capitol riot: Court temporarily blocks release of Trump files - BBC News

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Capitol riot: Court temporarily blocks

release of Trump files
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US Capitol stormed

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Mr Trump seen attending the baseball World Series last month

A US appeals court has temporarily denied a bid by US Capitol riot

investigators to access ex-President Donald Trump's White House records.

The ruling comes two days after a court ordered the documents to be turned
over to the congressional committee leading the inquiry.

Lawmakers are trying to find out if Mr Trump had foreknowledge of the riot.

Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building on 6 January as Congress was

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11/12/21, 10:58 AM Capitol riot: Court temporarily blocks release of Trump files - BBC News
Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building on 6 January as Congress was
meeting to certify the election result.

Mr Trump has refused to acknowledge losing the election to President Joe

Biden last year, making claims - without evidence - of mass voter fraud.

The inquiry is being conducted by a committee set up by the House of

Representatives, which is dominated by President Biden's Democrats.

Capitol riots timeline: How the day unfolded

Capitol riots: What we have learned six months on

Who stormed the Capitol?

The panel wants to see phone records, visitor logs and other White House
documents that could shed light on events leading up to the attack on
Congress.

But on Thursday, the US Court of Appeals in Washington placed a temporary

hold on a lower court's order to hand over the trove by Friday.

The appeals court said it will schedule a hearing for 30 November. The case
will be heard by three judges who were selected at random, according to US
media. All three were appointed by Democratic presidents.

When a mob stormed the US capitol

Mr Trump's lawyers had said in their emergency filing to the appeals court that
their client could "suffer irreparable harm through the effective denial of a
constitutional and statutory right to be fully heard on a serious disagreement
b t th f di b t P id t"
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11/12/21, 10:58 AM Capitol riot: Court temporarily blocks release of Trump files - BBC News
between the former and incumbent President".

The legal battle is likely to wind up at the Supreme Court.

Mr Trump - a Republican - has argued his White House communications were

protected by executive privilege, under which presidential documents can be

kept secret. But Mr Biden has waived executive privilege on the files.

And on Tuesday, US District Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected Mr Trump's

argument, writing in a 39-page decision: "Presidents are not kings, and
Plaintiff is not President."

The House Select Committee has issued dozens of subpoenas in the last week,
calling on many former Trump officials to hand over documents and testify
about the riot.

They include Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, Stephen
Miller, who was Mr Trump's senior adviser, Mark Meadows, former White
House chief of staff, and Michael Flynn, former national security adviser.

On Thursday, Mr Meadows notified the committee that he would refuse to co-

operate until a final court judgement. The move led the committee's top
investigator to threaten him with criminal contempt charges.

Following the Capitol riot, Mr Trump was impeached by the lower house of
Congress, but cleared by the then Republican-dominated upper house, the
Senate, of inciting an insurrection.

More than 670 people have been arrested for the invasion of the Capitol
complex.

Related Topics

US Capitol stormed US election 2020 Donald Trump Joe Biden

More on this story

Judge rejects Trump bid to block release of records

1 day ago

Capitol riot committee to investigate Trump allies

24 September

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11/12/21, 10:58 AM Capitol riot: Court temporarily blocks release of Trump files - BBC News

'I'm ashamed my father was a Capitol Hill rioter'

11 May

Trump must give documents to Capitol riot probe

9 October

Capitol riots: What we have learned

12 July

Police outnumber protesters at Capitol riots rally

19 September

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