The Daily Fuckup

On Feb. 16, 2022, the National Archives put another dated mark on Donald Trump’s fight over January 6 records. Archivist David Ferriero told Trump that, after consulting the White House Counsel and the Justice Department and acting on President Biden’s instruction, the Archives had determined it would disclose additional presidential records from a Jan. 14 notification that Trump had tried to shield by claiming privilege. Ferriero said the documents would be delivered to the House committee 15 days later, unless a court order blocked the transfer. ([archives.gov](https://www.archives.gov/files/foia/ferriero-response-to-january-31-2022-trump-privilege-letter.02.16.2022.pdf))

That letter did not stand alone. It came after the Supreme Court had already declined to stop the release of Trump White House records in the related fight over the committee’s request, leaving his privilege claims with less room to move. By mid-February, the dispute was less about a fresh Trump win or loss than about how much of the record the executive branch would still treat as covered by his objections. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?Search=Thompson+v+Smith.+154+SE+579&type=Site))

The narrower point mattered because the records fight had become one of the main ways Trump tried to control what could be seen about the run-up to Jan. 6 and the aftermath. His lawyers kept pressing a protective version of executive privilege over records tied to the committee’s request, while the Archives kept processing the material under the Presidential Records Act framework. The result was a continuing paper trail, not a clean shutdown of the inquiry. ([archives.gov](https://www.archives.gov/files/foia/ferriero-response-to-january-31-2022-trump-privilege-letter.02.16.2022.pdf))

What changed on Feb. 16 was not the existence of the fight but the paper trail around it. The Archives’ letter made clear that disclosure was moving forward, and that Trump’s objections were not enough to halt the process on their own. The broader posture had already shifted before that date; the February step simply showed the fight grinding on with the records headed toward release. ([archives.gov](https://www.archives.gov/files/foia/ferriero-response-to-january-31-2022-trump-privilege-letter.02.16.2022.pdf))