Supreme Court denies Trump request to block Jan. 6 Committee subpoenas

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The Supreme Court Wednesday denied former President Donald Trump's request for a court order to prevent the disclosure of privileged records to the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the Capitol.

The Court noted that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which upheld the Jan. 6 Committee's request for documents, had ruled Trump would have lost the case even if he were still president.

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"The questions whether and in what circumstances a former President may obtain a court order preventing disclosure of privileged records from his tenure in office, in the face of a determination by the incumbent President to waive the privilege, are unprecedented and raise serious and substantial concerns," the Court wrote. "Because the Court of Appeals concluded that President Trump’s claims would have failed even if he were the incumbent, his status as a former President necessarily made no difference to the court’s decision."

 In this Nov. 6, 2020, file photo, the Supreme Court is seen at sundown in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Justice Clarence Thomas would grant Trump's motion.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh released a statement along with the ruling.

"A former President must be able to successfully invoke the Presidential communications privilege for communications that occurred during his Presidency, even if the current President does not support the privilege claim," Kavanaugh wrote. "Concluding otherwise would eviscerate the executive privilege for Presidential communications."

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2018, file photo Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh sits with fellow Supreme Court justices for a group portrait at the Supreme Court Building in Washington.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

"The Supreme Court’s action tonight is a victory for the rule of law and American democracy," Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said in a statement on the ruling. "The Select Committee has already begun to receive records that the former President had hoped to keep hidden and we look forward to additional productions regarding this important information."

"Our work goes forward to uncover all the facts about the violence of January 6th and its causes," Thompson and Cheney added. "We will not be deterred in our effort to get answers for the American people, make legislative recommendations to strengthen our democracy, and help ensure nothing like that day ever happens again."

The Jan. 6 Committee recently subpoenaed Alphabet, Meta, Reddit, and Twitter in their search for documents. It also subpoenaed members of Trump's inner circle, including former New York City mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, former Trump Senior Legal Adviser Jenna Ellis, attorney Sidney Powell, and former Trump campaign strategic adviser Boris Epshteyn.

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Several Republicans have rejected the committee's investigation, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and former Trump adviser Roger Stone.

President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One with first lady Melania Trump for a trip to Poland and Germany, Wednesday, July 5, 2017, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (AP)

The committee is seeking the documents on an expedited process in order to finish the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol before the 2022 election.