Judge denies Trump request to halt release of documents to Jan. 6 select committee

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Jan. 6 committee subpoenas 10 former Trump White House officials

The House Jan. 6 select committee seeks testimony from 10 former Trump associates on the Capitol protests.

U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan denied former President Donald Trump’s request Wednesday to place a hold on an earlier ruling in which she rejected his bid to prevent the release of White House documents related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Trump’s legal team asked Chutkan to grant a preliminary injunction blocking the release of the documents sought by the House’s Jan. 6 select committee pending the outcome of his appeal. The federal judge rejected the motion, citing her earlier ruling on the case.

"This court will not effectively ignore its own reasoning in denying injunctive relief in the first place to grant injunctive relief now," the ruling said.

President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the National Republican Congressional Committee's annual spring dinner in Washington, April 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) ((AP Photo/Susan Walsh))

Trump has cited executive privilege in his effort to prevent the release of the requested documents, which include telephone records and visitor held by the National Archives. Select Committee members say the documents are essential to understand the Trump administration’s potential role in the Capitol riot.

FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo insurrections loyal to President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.  (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Congress is expected to gain access to the documents by Friday, barring a court intervention. The former president is expected to request relief from a federal appeals court in Washington D.C.

Last month, President Biden declined to invoke executive privilege on Trump’s behalf to prevent the release of the documents sought by the select committee. The decision led Trump to sue the Jan. 6 select committee and the National Archives, referring to the probe as a "vexatious, illegal fishing expedition."

Representative Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, listens during a business meeting of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. The committee probing the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is escalating its legal showdown with Steve Bannon with a vote recommending the full House hold him in criminal contempt for ignoring a congressional subpoena. Photographer: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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In Chutkin’s initial ruling, she determined the "the public interest lies in permitting — not enjoining — the combined will of the legislative and executive branches to study the events that led to and occurred on January 6, and to consider legislation to prevent such events from ever occurring again."