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Why did Donald Trump seek to prevent the House January 6 committee from receiving White House documents?

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Ketanji Brown Jackson United States Supreme Court justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, 2022.

Donald Trump sought to prevent the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol from receiving White House documents by invoking the principle of executive privilege.

In October 2021, Trump filed a lawsuit to block the release of hundreds of pages of records related to his activities and communications before and during the January 6 attack, which the committee had requested. By asserting executive privilege, he aimed to resist congressional oversight, arguing that such communications are protected to ensure that a president and their advisors can explore policy alternatives and make decisions in private without the threat of investigation.12

However, the district court rejected his request, and an appellate court upheld that decision. Trump subsequently filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied his request in January 2022, allowing the National Archives to turn the documents over to the committee.2