Trump's nominated judges also vote against the motion to storm the Capitol: defeat for the ex-president

Created: 2022-01-20 08:41

No success for ex-President Trump: After a court decision, the way is now clear for the handover of documents on the storming of the Capitol to the committee of inquiry.

Washington, DC - Former US President Donald Trump* has suffered a defeat in the Supreme Court in a dispute over the release of documents relating to the storming of the Capitol.

The Supreme Court in Washington on Wednesday evening (local time) rejected an application by the 75-year-old to block the transfer of documents to the parliamentary committee of inquiry into the storming of Congress a year ago.

This clears the way for the documents to be handed over.

Executive privilege for ex-US President?

Supreme Court makes decision

Trump had pleaded that as a former president he had so-called executive privilege and could therefore block the documents stored in the National Archives from being released.

His attorneys, in their submission to the Supreme Court, described Congress' request for documents as "remarkably broad" and accused the investigative committee of treating him as a "political enemy."

However, the current government of US President Joe Biden* had released the documents.

Several courts had previously ruled that the public interest in the documents and the incumbent president's decision in this case exceeded a former president's rights to confidentiality.

Defeat for Trump: Large majority rejects proposal to storm the Capitol

Trump now suffered a clear legal defeat before the Supreme Court: The Republican * request was rejected with a large majority of eight of the nine constitutional judges.

This is notable since three of the justices were nominated for the Supreme Court by Trump himself.

All three voted against Trump's motion.

The 770 pages of documents Trump wants to keep secret include memos to his staff, emails and lists of people who visited or called him on January 6, 2021, and notes made during those conversations.

The committee of inquiry set up by the House of Representatives wants to use the documents, among other things, to uncover the exact background to the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Decision on Capitol Storm Documents: "A Victory for the Rule of Law"

The committee chair, Democrat Bennie Thompson, and his vice chair, Republican Liz Cheney, welcomed the court's decision.

This is "a victory for the rule of law and American democracy," they said.

"Our work continues to uncover all the facts about the January 6 violence and its causes."

Radical Trump supporters stormed the Capitol when Democrat Joe Biden's victory in the November 3, 2020 presidential election was to be certified there.

The storming of the seat of Congress with five dead caused horror worldwide and is considered a black day in the history of US democracy.

Donald Trump, then President of the USA (archive image) © Evan Vucci/dpa

The U-Committee has also summoned around 400 witnesses, including key former Trump employees such as his former top strategist Steve Bannon and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

However, they remain loyal to the former president and refuse to testify.

Most recently, the committee summoned Trump's ex-lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday.

Time is of the essence for the Biden-Democrat-dominated U Committee as it desperately wants to release its results ahead of November's midterm elections.

After that, a Republican majority threatens, which could bury the work of the committee.

Trump, who to this day maintains his allegations of alleged election fraud, has not ruled out running again in 2024*.