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.
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.
Trump was swiftly criticized and accused of looking for ways to evade responsibility for inciting the attack.
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.
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