Former President Donald Trump is trying to block investigators of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot from accessing phone-call logs, daily presidential diaries, drafts of election speeches, handwritten notes to top aides and other documents, the National Archives revealed in a court filing.
The ex-commander-in-chief wants to stop the National Archives from transmitting these records – and thousands more – to a Democrat-led House committee probing the violent attack by Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol in response to him losing the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden.
Politico, citing the Saturday federal court filing, first reported that among the records are hundreds of pages from “multiple binders of the former press secretary [Kayleigh McEnany] which is made up almost entirely of talking points and statements related to the 2020 election.”
Among the documents Trump is trying to block are also 30 pages of “daily presidential diaries, schedules, appointment information showing visitors to the White House, activity logs, call logs, and switchboard shift-change checklists showing calls to the President and Vice President, all specifically for or encompassing January 6, 2021;” 13 pages of “drafts of speeches, remarks, and correspondence concerning the events of January 6, 2021;” and “three handwritten notes concerning the events of January 6 from (former White House chief of staff Mark) Meadows’ files,” Billy Laster, the director of the National Archives’ White House Liaison Division, wrote in the filing.
Other documents in question included a handwritten note from Meadows’ files “listing potential or scheduled briefings and telephone calls concerning the January 6 certification and other election issues” and “a draft Executive Order on the topic of election integrity.”
Two weeks ago, Trump filed a federal lawsuit in DC district court in a bid to stop the release of his presidential records – arguing they should remain private — and starting what could be a protracted fight over the concept of executive privilege.
The filing Saturday is part of the National Archives and Record Administration’s opposition to Trump’s lawsuit.
With Post wire services