Two dozen Republicans are among 66 former members of Congress who've signed a brief urging a federal judge to reject Donald Trump's efforts to block a House committee from accessing the former president's White House records.
Politico reported Thursday night that the brief "contends that no possible argument about executive privilege could overcome Congress' need for documents to probe the violent attack on the Capitol — one fueled by Trump's false claim that the 2020 election was stolen."
"From what is publicly known, it is clear that Donald Trump played an outsized — and likely central — role in orchestrating the events that gave rise to the January 6th attack," states the brief, which was expected to be filed Friday. "And many, and perhaps most, of the various means he used or contemplated are documented in the records the Committee seeks and are still not known."
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The brief, filed under the umbrella of Protect Democracy, further alleges that "Trump's ability to assert executive privilege is limited to acts he took in his official capacity as president — not in service of his reelection or private campaign-related business," according to Politico.
"Senate Minority Leader McConnell explained, the efforts to overturn the election were not the official acts of a President; they were 'a disgraceful dereliction of duty,'" the brief states. "The executive privilege does not apply, thus ending the inquiry and dooming the motion presently before the Court."
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