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The letter said the committee was looking for documents covered by executive privilege, as well as other privileges.
“President Trump is prepared to defend these fundamental privileges in court,” the letter said.
Then, the letter ordered its recipient to withhold any documents relating to his work at the White House and to decline to testify about his official duties.
The letter launches the first major political and legal test for the select committee, which is investigating the violent attack by Trump supporters on the Capitol. It is unclear how the committee will attempt to enforce subpoenas from the Trump-allied quartet, but members of the panel – which includes seven Democrats and two anti-Trump Republicans – said they could ask the Justice Department prosecute witnesses who refuse to comply.
It also remains to be seen whether former Trump officials will follow Trump’s instructions. If found guilty of criminal contempt of Congress, they face a year in prison and a fine of up to $ 100,000.
Investigating the attack – which injured more than 150 police officers – is a key priority for Democrats in Congress.
Trump’s move could also create a dilemma for the Biden administration. Most presidents are loath to weaken executive privilege, the loosely defined right for presidents to have conversations with their advisers without fear that those conversations may one day become public.
The Constitution does not mention the concept, but the courts have ruled that it exists. Presidents sometimes say so to protect their advisers from complying with congressional subpoenas.
The White House clarified its position on the assertion of executive privilege regarding the committee’s Jan.6 requests last month after press secretary Jen Psaki said a decision was made not to protect any files from the committee. Trump era. Following this comment from Psaki, a White House spokesman said the Biden administration would in fact make these calls on a “case-by-case basis.”
Nonetheless, experts previously told POLITICO that they suspected that Biden’s White House attorney’s office might assert privilege on Trump’s behalf in some cases. That’s because the weakening of executive privilege could create problems for Biden down the road. Meadows’ subpoena is particularly sensitive; the idea of opposing party Congressional investigators toasting a White House chief of staff is a nightmare scenario for most presidents.
At the same time, Meadows likely has detailed knowledge of Trump’s behavior before and during the Jan.6 attack and was backstage at the #StopTheSteal rally on the National Mall where Trump spoke ahead of the Capitol siege.
Experts are divided on how former presidents can exercise executive privilege. David Rivkin, former lawyer for the Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush administrations, told POLITICO that only sitting presidents can claim executive privilege.
“He can request that the assertion of privilege be made by the sitting president,” Rivkin added of Trump.
And representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD), member of the select committee, also weighed in on this issue. “The executive privilege of a former president does not exist,” he told the Washington Post. “It’s extremely watered down and not really relevant.”
But this is not a consensus. Saikrishna Prakash, a professor at the University of Virginia Law School, said this conflict enters legally unknown territory and the Supreme Court has found that former presidents enjoy executive privilege, at least to some extent.
“Imagine having a conversation with President Biden during the last two months of his presidency,” Prakash said. “Are you going to give him some sincere advice if you know it’s going to come out in two months, that the privilege is over in two months?” No, maybe not.
A Trump spokesperson blasted the committee in a statement.
“The very partisan Communist-style ‘select committee’ has made a shockingly broad document request that lacks both legal precedent and legislative foundation,” Taylor Budowich, Trump’s communications director, said in a statement.
“Executive privilege will be upheld, not only on behalf of President Trump and his administration, but also on behalf of the office of the President of the United States and the future of our nation. The Fake News continues to nibble at the hook of Democrats, who are desperately trying to distract the country with this bogus process.
Either way, Trump’s letter will delight his supporters. Newsmax anchor Grant Stinchfield reported yesterday that Trump was planning to cite executive privilege to order the four men not to comply.
“This is what you get with President Trump,” he added. “You get a fighting man. You understand me? The president defends himself. That’s what we love about President Trump, and he relies on these people trying to pursue him. “
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