Trump is actively trying to stop the work of the committee by telling former White House aide Steve Bannon to not answer questions in the probe. He also sued the panel to stop Congress from obtaining documents from the White House. The House committee says they won't back down as they gather evidence and testimony on Trump's attack that left dozens injured police officers and disrupted President Joe Biden's win.
"The ex-president's clear goal is to prevent the Select Committee from finding the facts about January 6, and his lawsuit is nothing but an attempt to delay or obstruct our probe," stated Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Republican Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyoming), in a joint statement on Monday.
They said, "It's difficult to imagine a greater public interest than trying get answers about an attack against our democracy and an attempt at overturning the results of an electoral election."
Trump filed a lawsuit after Biden waived his right to prevent the release of documents over executive privilege concerns. According to papers filed in federal courts in the District of Columbia, Trump claims that the August request by the panel was too broad and an "illegal fishing expedition".
As Trump repeatedly stated, the lawsuit was inevitable. He has also made it clear that he would challenge the investigation into the attack on his family by a mob of supporters. Trump's challenge went far beyond the initial 125 pages that Biden had approved for release to the committee. The suit names both the National Archives and the congressional committee. It seeks to invalidate the entire congressional request as it is too broad, burdensome, and challenges the separation of powers. The suit seeks a court injunction that prohibits the archivists from producing the documents.
In clearing documents for release, the Biden administration stated that the nine-month-old violent siege on the Capitol was so extraordinary that it warranted the waiver of privileges that normally protect White House communications.