Former President Donald Trump once infamously referred to himself as a "stable genius."
But now, as lawmakers continue to investigate the insurrection of January 6, he is adamant any documentation regarding his mental stability not see the light of day.
Trump lashed out at lawmakers who sit on the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack after they requested "documents pertaining to the mental stability of Trump."
You can read his official statement below.
INBOX: He\u2019s afraid.pic.twitter.com/NJR1szVLML— Andrew Feinberg (@Andrew Feinberg) 1629937084
Trump insisted the committee amounts to little more than a pointless distraction from Democratic "failures," alluding to the ongoing evacuation effort in Afghanistan.
"The Leftist 'select committee' has further exposed itself as a partisan sham and waste of taxpayer dollars with a request that's timed to distract Americans from historic and global distractions brought on by the failures of Joe Biden and the Democrats."
Although Trump claimed the committee is just a "partisan sham," it is, in fact, a bipartisan effort.
There are two Republicans on the committee: Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney and Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger.
Both of them were among the ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for inciting an insurrection against Congress.
Trump went on to suggest he is protected under executive privilege, which gives Presidents the ability to assert confidentiality and withhold information in the public interest.
"Unfortunately, this partisan exercise is being performed at the expense of long-standing legal principles of privilege."
"Executive privilege will be defended, not just on behalf of my Administration and the Patriots who worked beside me, but on behalf of the Office of the President of the United States and the future of our Nation."
He concluded by calling the committee's work "pathetic":
"These Democrats only have one tired trick–political theater–and their latest request only reinforces that pathetic reality."
Legal analyst Joyce Alene noted executive privilege does not extend to efforts to stop the certification of an election President Joe Biden won.
Moreover, executive privilege belongs to the current office-holder: Biden himself.
There\u2019s a legitimate scope of executive privilege, which ensures a president gets candid, thorough advice. But it doesn\u2019t extend to covering up efforts to keep the new president from taking office. Trump\u2019s desperation to keep info secret says it all.https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/25/politics/january-6-house-documents-investigation/index.html\u00a0\u2026— Joyce Alene (@Joyce Alene) 1629979508
Trump was swiftly criticized and accused of looking for ways to evade responsibility for inciting the attack.
Trump thinks he can use executive privilege to block the House Select Committee from gaining access to his communications. \n\nExecutive of what?\n\nThe loser actually thinks he is still president.— TheSadTruth\ud83d\udc99 (@TheSadTruth\ud83d\udc99) 1629981886
Sort of hilarious that Trump is threatening a frivolous lawsuit (claiming executive privilege over Jan. 6th docs) the very same evening that one of his lawyers is sanctioned for filing frivolous lawsuits.https://www.reuters.com/world/us/judge-sanctions-sidney-powell-other-pro-trump-lawyers-who-claimed-voter-fraud-2021-08-25/\u00a0\u2026— Teri Kanefield (@Teri Kanefield) 1629947502
BTW, the only Executive privilege Trump has right now centers around the Mar-A-Lago Executive Washroom. If he wants to decrease the amount of toilet paper, change soaps, or even install no touch hand dryers for his tiny little powerless hands, he can have at it.— Mr. Newberger (@Mr. Newberger) 1629977955
Trump says he'll "defend" executive privilege over docs related to the Jan. 6th riot.\n\nI'd like to hear how revealing communication about an insurrection and a "Stop the Steal" rally would "impair government functions."https://www.yahoo.com/now/trump-says-executive-privilege-defended-005400043.html\u00a0\u2026— Teri Kanefield (@Teri Kanefield) 1629942447
Trump LOVES privilege of all kinds. Wealth, masculine dominance, boss privilege. Executive privilege is his ultimate, divine-right-of-kings megalomaniac dream.https://twitter.com/tomjchicago/status/1430688989770625027\u00a0\u2026— Arabella (@Arabella) 1629949091
Since he no longer has Executive Privilege, he "threatens" to use it.\nToo bad his brainwashed followers can't see that as an example of how Trump *knows* he is not pres.https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-flips-out-at-house-committee-after-it-requests-secret-capitol-riot-documents\u00a0\u2026— Stray Political Cat \ud83d\udc99 (@Stray Political Cat \ud83d\udc99) 1629988880
Trump as always believes he can stall an impending investigation.\n\nExecutive privilege lies with the current POTUS so Biden gets to decide not him(trump).— \ud83d\udda4 \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddf6 BlueWorld \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddf6 \ud83d\udda4 (@\ud83d\udda4 \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddf6 BlueWorld \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddf6 \ud83d\udda4) 1629991924
Mississippi Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson, who chairs the committee, made clear requests for these documents have been made to several agencies.
These include the National Archives and Records Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the departments of Justice, Defense, Homeland Security and the Interior.
In a letter to these agencies, he wrote:
"Our Constitution provides for a peaceful transfer of power, and this investigation seeks to evaluate threats to that process, identify lessons learned and recommend laws, policies, procedures, rules, or regulations necessary to protect our republic in the future."
The agencies have a deadline of September 9 to comply with the requests.
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
@BillAckman/Twitter