Former President Trump’s bid to block the Biden administration from complying with an expansive document request got bad news on Thursday.

The January 6th Select Committee is attempting to uncover documents from Trump’s White House. As a result, Trump has moved to block it.

Context: A federal judge on Thursday seemed skeptical of the Trump team’s attempts.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan grilled Trump’s attorneys stating, “are you really saying that the president’s notes, talking points, telephone conversations on Jan. 6, for example, have no relation to the matter on which Congress is considering legislation?.. The January riots happened in the Capitol; that is literally Congress’s house.”

Why it Matters: Former President Trump is trying to protect his communication with executive privilege. A release of the documents could show how much involvement Trump actually had in the events of the day.

A big privilege question is also being raised. President Joe Biden is saying there is no privilege while Trump is saying there is.

As a result, a court is in a position to decide which president’s opinion holds more weight.

Judge Chutkan did push back on the requests from the House as well, calling the broad in her response to the attorneys.

What They are Saying:

Judge Chutkan does think the House requests are broad stating the requests were, “alarmingly broad,” “very broad,” and “really broad.”

“Permitting the expansive request here would harm future presidents and their close aides by allowing invasive congressional fishing expeditions that will certainly chill candid advice and harm the institution of the presidency,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a brief to the court.

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