A federal judge Wednesday night rejected the latest attempt by former President Donald Trump to block the release of documents from his administration surrounding the events of Jan. 6.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan denied a request for an emergency injunction filed by Trump's lawyers a day after she ruled against Trump, who was trying to stop a House committee from receiving scores of White House documents from the Trump administration pertaining to the Capitol riot. Trump has argued that the files are protected by executive privilege.
Chutkan, declining Wednesday to reverse her previous ruling, said Trump still has time to file an appeal for an injunction. The National Archives plans to turn Trump's records over Friday to the House committee investigating the January riot.
"This court will not effectively ignore its own reasoning in denying injunctive relief in the first place to grant injunctive relief now," Chutkan wrote.
Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump's lawyers have promised to appeal to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which could send to the case to the Supreme Court. His attorneys have yet to file their appeal to the D.C. Circuit.
Chutkan said Tuesday that Congress has a strong public interest in obtaining records that could shed light on the Jan. 6 attack. She also said that as the incumbent, President Joe Biden has the authority to waive executive privilege over the documents despite Trump's assertions of privilege.
Biden has repeatedly said executive privilege should not be invoked to block the House committee's document requests.
The committee asked the National Archives in March and August for documents that were related to the Trump administration's actions before, during and after the attack. Trump notified the archives later that he formally asserted executive privilege.
