The Daily Fuckup

A federal appeals court on Dec. 9, 2021, cleared the way for the release of a set of Trump White House records sought by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack, after President Joe Biden declined to support Donald Trump’s executive-privilege claim. The ruling turned on the clash between Trump’s request to keep the records sealed and Biden’s decision that the documents should be shared with Congress.

The material at issue included presidential diaries, visitor logs, speech drafts, handwritten notes from former chief of staff Mark Meadows about Jan. 6, and a draft executive order on election integrity, according to the National Archives. The Archives said those records were part of the committee’s request under the Presidential Records Act, which governs access to presidential records after a president leaves office. ([archives.gov](https://www.archives.gov/foia/january-6-committee))

The appeals court said Trump had provided “no basis” for the court to override Biden’s judgment and the accommodations worked out between the political branches over the records. The panel’s decision followed an earlier district court ruling against Trump and came after Biden’s White House told the Archivist it would not back Trump’s privilege assertion. ([cbsnews.com](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-january-6-committee-appeals-court-ruling-supreme-court/?utm_source=openai))

For Trump, the loss is not just about a narrow set of papers. It is another defeat in a wider effort to hold back documents tied to the aftermath of the 2020 election and the run-up to the Capitol attack. The committee has been seeking records it says are central to understanding what Trump knew, what he did, and how his aides and allies pressed election challenges after voters had already chosen a president. ([archives.gov](https://www.archives.gov/foia/january-6-committee))

The ruling did not end the fight. Trump later asked the Supreme Court to intervene, extending the dispute into another round of litigation. But on Dec. 9, the appeals court made the key point plain: Trump’s privilege claim was not enough to keep the records out of the committee’s hands once Biden declined to assert privilege on his behalf. ([axios.com](https://www.axios.com/2021/12/23/trump-supreme-court-appeal-jan-6-committee?utm_source=openai))