Former President Joe Biden will not assert executive privilege to block the release of Trump-era records to the House committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot, a significant decision that paves the way for access to potentially critical materials. The determination, disclosed in a letter from White House Counsel Dana Remus to the National Archives, applies to a specific set of documents delivered to the White House on September 8.
Remus stated that, following consultation with the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel, Biden concluded that withholding the records “is not in the best interests of the United States.” The decision highlights the White House’s position that the congressional inquiry into the Capitol attack is of “unique and extraordinary” importance.
President Donald Trump had attempted to block the release, asserting executive and other privileges over 45 documents that he argued contain presidential communications and attorney-client protected materials. Trump’s legal strategy includes a preemptive claim that future records requests, which could number in the millions, should be presumed privileged. Experts note that Trump now has a 30-day window to challenge the decision in court before the records are released.
This is not the first time Biden has waived privilege over Trump-era actions. The administration previously declined to block testimony from former Trump DOJ officials related to attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Meanwhile, the House Select Committee investigating January 6 has ramped up pressure on former Trump aides. While Mark Meadows and Kash Patel have engaged with the panel, Steve Bannon has refused to comply, citing Trump’s privilege claim. Bannon’s attorney has communicated that his client will not participate until the privilege matter is resolved. However, legal analysts widely view this defense as flawed, given Bannon was no longer a White House official at the time of the events under investigation.
Committee leaders, Chair Bennie Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, issued a warning that they will pursue criminal contempt if witnesses defy lawful subpoenas. Dan Scavino, another former Trump adviser, was recently served his subpoena, leaving all four targeted individuals officially notified.
Separately, in a reversal of typical roles, former President Trump has now chosen not to assert executive privilege to shield Dr. Kevin O’Connor — the former White House physician for President Biden — from testifying before the House Oversight Committee. This development follows Chairman James Comer’s subpoena as part of a probe into whether Biden’s top aides concealed the president’s mental and physical condition while in office.
The White House counsel’s letter to O’Connor, obtained by Fox News Digital, states that “an assertion of executive privilege is not justified” in this case due to the “exceptional circumstances” and congressional interest in understanding whether powers of the presidency were improperly exercised by aides during Biden’s alleged cognitive decline.
O’Connor’s legal team had objected to the subpoena, calling it unprecedented and warning it could violate doctor-patient confidentiality. The Oversight Committee dismissed this as a “delay tactic.”