It certainly seemed for a moment like the Democrats had it all figured out, didn’t it?
Instead of allowing Trump’s acquittal in his second impeachment trial to stand in its proper place in history, they were going to recast the roles and re-shoot the whole movie – figuratively, of course – but this time the 45th President wouldn’t skate on the charges. And, if Nancy Pelosi was lucky, her side’s argument would be coming to a crescendo just ahead of the 2022 midterms.
But it doesn’t appear as thought Trump is going let them get away with it.
Donald Trump is suing the Jan. 6 select committee and the National Archives to block the release of his White House’s records related to the Capitol attack.
The former president’s lawyers filed the 26-page suit in D.C. district court on Monday, declaring the committee’s investigation “a vexatious, illegal fishing expedition.” It names the Jan. 6 panel’s chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), and the national archivist, David Ferriero, along with the committee and the archives themselves.
Trump’s legal team contends that the Jan. 6 panel’s push for voluminous records from his administration — such as his internal communications with lawyers, campaign operatives and senior officials — would shatter the notion of executive privilege. In their suit, Trump’s lawyers ask a federal judge to invalidate the entire request from the select committee, to block the Archives from turning over any materials to Congress in response to the request, and to specifically block the Archives from turning over any documents that Trump says are covered by executive privilege.
And then – in news that will certainly dim the prospects of the select committee even further:
Trump’s team is also asking for the court to have the Archives first identify all documents from Trump’s White House that could be responsive to the request, then let Trump’s lawyers fully review them before sharing them with Congress. That process could take years.
Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats may had thought that they got away with one here, but they also seemed to forget who they were messing with.
