#Breaking - House Select Committee on Jan6th asked SCOTUS to DENY Trump’s petition
Trust me on this read the 17 page Oppo filed by the House Select Committee on Jan6t. All eyes on SCOTUS. The Select Committee is correct this could be an unprecedented intrusion by SCOTUS.
House Select Committee on Jan6th to SCOTUS…
In the newly docketed brief filed by the House Select Committee on Jan6th -the Committee main (and arguably correct) assertion that Trump failed to show any of the four prerequisite showings for the “extraordinary relief” Trump is seeking
…file this memorandum in opposition to former President Donald J. Trump’s application for a stay of the mandate and an injunction pending the disposition of Applicant’s petition for a writ of certiorari… Applicant seeks this relief even though he has not made any particularized arguments explaining why disclosure of the specific documents at issue will produce the requisite harm. Applicant cannot meet his burden for obtaining the extraordinary relief he requests from this Court.
After a careful review, and in light of the extraordinary events of January 6, President Biden concluded that granting the Select Committee access to certain of the requested records is in the best interest of the United States and that an assertion of executive privilege therefore is not justified..
However I’d like to draw your attention to page 2 -there’s an important fact buried in the second paragraph, look closely at what I redlined:
…including upcoming interviews of scores of witnesses…
…it would cause irreparable harm to the Select Committee by denying it the records it urgently needs to inform its ongoing investigation, including upcoming interviews of scores of witnesses. Obtaining this information promptly is necessary to fulfill the Select Committee’s responsibility to understand the events of January 6, and recommend timely legislative changes designed to ensure that those events never recur.
As you read the House Select Committee’s Opposition you’ll note they repeatedly invoke the “extraordinary relief sought” and how every Federal Judge that heard Trump arguments (in the lower courts) roundly rejected his arguments. With the lynchpin being Trump failed to articulate the merits of success, balance of equities is in the public interest
“…applicant must demonstrate that the legal rights at issue are indisputably clear…”
…such a stay will not provide Applicant the affirmative relief he seeks from this Court. Rather, “[t]he only source of authority for this Court to issue an injunction is the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a),” Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. v. Sebelius, 568 U.S. 1401, 1403 (2012) (Sotomayor, J., in chambers), an extraordinary remedy requiring extraordinary justification.
He has not established that this Court is likely to grant review and reverse the decision of the court of appeals. Further, as below, Applicant has again failed to show that he will be irreparably harmed in the absence of an injunction, and the balance of the equities and the public interest likewise weigh against injunctive relief. Applicant’s request would override the respective judgments of both political branches and impede the urgent business of the Select Committee to investigate the attack on Congress and prevent future attacks…
On pages 5 & 6 the House Select Committee on Jan6th reiterates that the lower courts (Federal District Court and the US Circuit Court of Appeals-DC) found that Trump’s assertions lacked the four factors required when seeking an extraordinary relief by way of a TRO, Preliminary Injunction…
I would like to also draw your attention to pages 7 and 8 - the House Select Committee on Jan6th arguments are not only correct but they are exquisitely brutal. Especially the argument of an incumbent President versus a former (disgraced) president…
…Put simply, Applicant offers nothing to overcome the determination of the current President (and the judgment of both the district court and the court of appeals) that disclosure will not harm the Executive Branch’s interests.
Applicant also suggests (Appl. 22-23) that his personal constitutional rights are at stake, but executive privilege is for the “benefit of the Republic,” “not for the benefit of the President as an individual.” GSA, 433 U.S. at 449. And, contrary to Applicant’s suggestion in his Petition that the records at issue are his “personal records” (Pet. 31), the records belong to the United States pursuant to the Presidential Records Act. 44 U.S.C. § 2202
Again you can read the House Committee on Jan6th Memorandum of Opposition
https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/21A272/206965/20211230143219021_Trump%20v.%20Thompon%20Opposition%20to%20Application%20for%20Injunction%20FINAL.pdf to review the full SCOTUS docket # No. 21A272
Also you’ll note on page 9 -the Committee proffers a December 16, 2021 letter which is used to fortify the Select Committee’s argument about the ongoing accommodation, request and deferments of various records -I uploaded that previously undisclosed letter to my Scribd Account
To affirm previous assertions that “time is of the essence” I want to you carefully read page 11. Here the House Select Committee on Jan6th drives home the point that neither chamber of Congress is a “continuing body” that the scope and authority of the Select Committee expires on January 3, 2023. Which is the end of the 117th Congress. And I’ll keep repeating this Trump’s only play is his Triple D strategy: delay, distract and deny (you can read more of an in-depth analysis which was published in early December 2021)and the subtext here is the midterm elections:
…Select Committee’s task to study and recommend legislation to ensure that an attack like the one on January 6 is not repeated, and that our Nation’s democracy is protected from future attacks, is urgent.
Moreover, because “the House, unlike the Senate, is not a continuing body,” Eastland, 421 U.S. at 512, the Select Committee’s authorization will expire on January 3, 2023. See U.S. Const., Amend. XX, §§ 1, 2. The Select Committee therefore needs the requested documents now to shape the direction of its investigation and propose remedial legislation, and Congress needs time to legislate to prevent another attack.
You can also read more in-depth analysis -specifically focused on Trump’s sprint to SCOTUS where I opined:
..Notwithstanding in the coming weeks -we are about to find out just what kind of appetite SCOTUS has for the House Select Committee on January 6, 2021 DomesticTerror attack on the Capitol. Given that Donald Trump has unceremoniously sprinted to SCOTUS. Also see October 2021 lawsuit that launched a thousand lawsuits (okay that’s kind of an exaggeration but I think you get the gist) While smart individuals know better than to predict a judicial outcome, others decide “damn the torpedoes…full steam ahead…”
And you can read further deeper dive into Trump’s recent 196 page filing -I’m not kidding reading his December 24, 2021 Brief is like 31 flavors of disfunction and every time you go to turn a page you get a papercut. Because again Trump’s failure to show “concrete and particularized injury”, “the likelihood of success”, “the balance of equities tips in favor” of an injunction…Trump didn’t just fail to articulate a showing —he is not on strong footing and his arguments are not supported by case law.
Key phrase “Except in extraordinary circumstances…”
Because that phrase “Except in extraordinary circumstances” is in fact part of the articulated by President Biden. See October 8, 2021 Letter (Also see second letter) from White House
and lastly I’m making zero predictions on what SCOTUS will do -I would however keep an eye on SCOTUS’ Shadow Docket -see September 2021 in-depth article found here.
Wouldn't we all enjoy seeing 2022 begin with some justice? Thank you for this article and all associated research, as always. Wishing all the best to you and yours, for healing and prosperity in the New Year!
Excellent work