Judge Tells Trump He Is Not President While Denying Request To Hide 1/6 Documents

Trump lost his bid to hide documents from the 1/6 Committee as the judge told him that he is not the president and he doesn’t have executive privilege.

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Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed the notion that executive privilege exists to protect former presidents:

Defendants acknowledge that executive privilege may extend beyond a President’s tenure in office, but they emphasize that the privilege exists to protect the executive branch, not an individual. Therefore, they argue, the incumbent President—not a former President—is best positioned to evaluate the long-term interests of the executive branch and to balance the benefits of disclosure against any effect on the on the ability of future executive branch advisors to provide full and frank advice. The court agrees.

The crushing blow came when the judge told Trump that he lost and is not the president, “Plaintiff does not acknowledge the deference owed to the incumbent President’s judgment. His position that he may override the express will of the executive branch appears to be premised on the notion that his executive power “exists in perpetuity.”. But Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President. He retains the right to assert that his records are privileged, but the incumbent President “is not constitutionally obliged to honor” that assertion.

Trump was comprehensively defeated in the ruling. As legal experts expected, the failed former president did not have a leg to stand on in court. More importantly, the ruling came so quickly that it dealt a blow to Trump’s plan to keep the 1/6 Committee tied up in court until after the 2022 election.

Ex-presidents aren’t kings, they don’t have executive privilege, and Donald Trump is running out of places to hide.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association