Judge to hear Trump’s case against Jan. 6 committee in November

A federal judge will hear former President Trump’s case against the House Jan. 6 Committee’s request for extensive records from his administration in a hearing next month.

U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan on Friday scheduled a Nov. 4 hearing in Trump’s lawsuit against the committee, setting a rapid schedule for the case.

Trump sued the committee earlier this week, seeking to block it from obtaining the records from the National Archives and citing executive privilege claims in pushing to keep them under wraps.

“The Committee’s request amounts to nothing less than a vexatious, illegal fishing expedition openly endorsed by Biden and designed to unconstitutionally investigate President Trump and his administration,” the lawsuit reads. “Our laws do not permit such an impulsive, egregious action against a former President and his close advisors.”

The case is likely to test unanswered legal and constitutional questions about the scope and weight of a former president’s assertions of executive privilege.

The lawsuit came as the House was in the process of referring Stephen Bannon, the one-time Trump White House adviser, to the Justice Department for prosecution over his refusal to comply with a committee subpoena.

It’s now up to the Justice Department to decide whether to charge Bannon with criminal contempt of Congress, laying the ground for the possibility of two major court cases over the committee’s investigation.