Chutkan’s commentary suggests she’s likely to rule against Trump’s effort to stop the National Archives from furnishing the records to Congress, a crucial milestone as the Jan. 6 committee seeks greater insight into Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election. Though Chutkan didn’t rule immediately, she vowed to issue a decision “expeditiously,” noting that the National Archives intends to provide the documents to lawmakers by Nov. 12.
But Chutkan also indicated that she had concerns about how broad the Jan. 6 committee’s request for Trump’s records were. Some documents they’re seeking, she noted, included polling data and records as far back as April 2020.
“There’s almost no limit to what you could be seeking,” Chutkan said.
Still, Chutkan reserved her toughest questions for Trump’s team, repeatedly suggesting that the history of executive privilege — from laws to court rulings — failed to support their argument that Trump could assert it in this case.
The Jan. 6 committee has asked the National Archives for extensive records of Trump’s decisions and contacts in the months leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection, as well as about his effort to enlist the Justice Department to try to overturn the 2020 election results. Citing the unprecedented nature of the attack on the Capitol, President Joe Biden agreed that he would not assert privilege over any of the records in the committee’s early requests.
Trump filed suit last month, arguing that former presidents have the power to assert executive privilege over their White House records, even if the current president disagrees.
Chutkan, though, repeatedly poked holes in this argument. Executive privilege is meant to protect the office of the presidency itself, she noted, not the occupant — particularly after leaving office.
"The person best able to determine whether there’s an executive privilege is the current executive," she said.
