Trump suit against Jan. 6 Committee seeks to block release of records

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Former President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit against the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack in an attempt to block his White House records from being obtained by the panel.

"Today, President Donald J. Trump filed a lawsuit in defense of the Constitution, the Office of the President, and the future of our nation, all of which the sham Unselect Committee is trying to destroy," Trump's office said in a statement Monday. "The fact is America is under assault by Pelosi’s Communist-style attempt to silence and destroy America First patriots through this hyper-partisan and illegitimate investigation."

FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington before boarding Marine One. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

JEFFREY CLARK, A TRUMP DOJ OFFICIAL, SUBPOENED BY HOUSE JANUARY 6 SELECT COMMITTEE 

The lawsuit comes after the committee asked the National Archives earlier this year for records related to communications made within the Trump administration on the day of the Jan. 6 riot, setting the stage for the legal battle over executive privilege.

But Trump's lawsuit seeks an injunction against the release of the records, claiming the committee has "no legislative purpose."

The lawsuit also argues that former presidents have "inherent Constitutional Rights of Privilege," and that the National Archives has not had adequate time to organize documents that have been requested by Congress.

In the statement, Trump's office argued that the committee is a "partisan sham" that Democrats are using to distract from policies that are "killing and robbing Americans."

In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, violent protesters, loyal to President Donald Trump, storm the Capitol in Washington. Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz on Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, fired the two Seattle police officers who violated the law while attending events in Washington D.C. during the Jan. 6 insurrection. Diaz said he fired Caitlin and Alexander Everett, the two officers who are married, effective immediately. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Some of the policies cited include the border crisis, which the state said is "flooding our communities with drugs and gangs" and "costing taxpayers billions." The statement also took issue with what it called a "mismanagement of COVID," rising crime because of efforts to defund police, and failure of economic policy.

"The media is complicit in advancing the Committee’s unconstitutionally flawed request," the statement said.

President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020, after stepping off Marine One. Trump is returning from Camp David. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

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The statement also questioned how the requested records are related to the Jan. 6 riot.

"This committee exposed itself as a sham by requesting documents which serve no legitimate legislative purpose—what does President Trump's campaign polling data from Florida have to do with an investigation into January 6th," the statement concluded.