Jan. 6 panel reaches deal with Biden White House to defer certain document requests

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol will defer its requests for certain Trump-era documents after the Biden White House argued in favor of shielding them.

While the Biden White House has mostly rejected executive privilege requests and turned Trump-era documents over to the panel, the White House counsel’s office argued in a letter dated Dec. 16 that certain documents do not apply to the investigation and should remain protected.

“President Biden recognizes that Congress has a compelling need, in service of its legislative functions, to understand the circumstances that led to the insurrection that took place on January 6, and the extraordinary events surrounding it, in order to ensure nothing similar ever happens again,” White House deputy counsel Jonathan Su wrote in the four-page letter.

“The documents for which the Select Committee has agreed to withdraw or defer its request do not appear to bear on the White House’s preparations for or response to the events of January 6, or on efforts to overturn the election or otherwise obstruct the peaceful transfer of power,” Su added, arguing that shielding those documents should not impede the committee’s investigation.

Many of the documents the committee will defer its request on either don’t pertain to the insurrection or involve deliberations by the National Security Council. If the latter were released to the committee, it could set a precedent for future administrations that could compromise presidential decisionmaking, the counsel’s office argued.

The special committee established to look into the insurrection at the Capitol has requested thousands of documents from the Trump White House related to the events of Jan. 6. The former president has refused to cooperate, citing executive privilege claims that his team argues should block the release of those documents.

Former President Trump last week asked the Supreme Court to block the National Archives from turning over records from his White House to the House Jan. 6 select committee after a series of defeats in the lower courts.

The Jan. 6 committee has since requested that the Supreme Court issue a decision on the matter by mid-January as the panel seeks to expedite its work.