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President Biden has ordered the National Archives to turn over Trump White House visitor logs to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, despite former President Donald Trump’s claim of executive privilege.
In a letter to the National Archives, counsel to the president Dana Remus said Biden is instructing the agency to give the committee the logs, which show White House visitor information for dates including the day of the riot.
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“President Biden has considered the former President’s claims, and I have engaged in consultations with the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice,” Remus wrote. “The President has determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the best interests of the United States, and therefore is not justified, as to these records and portions of records.”
Former President Donald Trump attends a briefing with state officials and law enforcement at the Weslaco Department of Public Safety DPS Headquarters before touring the U.S.-Mexico border wall, June 30, 2021 in Weslaco, Texas.
(Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)
The letter notes that the Biden administration – like the Obama administration had in the past – “voluntarily discloses” such records every month, and that the current disclosure policy would cover most of the records Trump is trying to keep under wraps.
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“As practice under that policy demonstrates, preserving the confidentiality of this type of record generally is not necessary to protect long-term institutional interests of the Executive Branch,” Remus wrote, adding that “[a]ccordingly, President Biden does not uphold the former President’s assertions of privilege.”
Biden is now ordering the National Archives to release the logs 15 days after they notify Trump, unless a court order prohibits this.
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The logs will not automatically be made public. While they are to be turned over to the committee, they will be designated confidential as “national-security sensitive” or “otherwise-highly sensitive,” and the committee will not be able to share them without advance consultation. Personal information such as birth dates and social security numbers will be redacted.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.