“We take this matter incredibly seriously,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in Friday’s press briefing. “The President has already concluded that it would not be appropriate to claim executive privilege.”
“We will answer these questions immediately,” Saki said. “And of course when they come from Congress and of course we are working with Congress committees and others as they are working to get to the bottom of what happened on January 6 in our democracy. An incredibly dark day. “
Later, Psaki said that Biden was “looking toward not claiming executive privilege,” but that those requests would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
The White House later attempted to clarify Psaki’s initial comments about executive privilege being unfair. He says Psaki was referring to the administration’s previous decision not to claim executive privilege in the committee’s attempt to testify about the committee’s attempt to oust then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen. the wanted.
“The administration strongly believes in the vital role of this committee and we will continue to work together in future as well. Jane was referring to the administration’s previous decision not to claim executive privileges in the case of some former DOJ officers. Those who were called to testify before Congress,” said an administration official. “As Jane noted, the administration will determine any future questions of executive privilege involving documents and testimony on a case-by-case basis. I will.”
The committee called for “all documentation and communications within the White House” that day, including call logs, schedules and meetings with top officials and outside advisers, including Rudy Giuliani.
Trump is sending four summons to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, former advisers Steve Bannon and Kash Patel, former chief of staff to then-acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, who also served . An aide to Republican Representative Devin Nunes.
All four former Trump employees were part of a larger records request the committee sent to government agencies last month.
White House spokesman Michael Gwynn said, “As President Biden has said, the events of January 6 were a dark blot on our nation’s history, and they represent an attack of sorts on our Constitution and the very foundations of democracy. In a statement to CNN.
“The president is fully committed to making sure this doesn’t happen again and supports a thorough investigation into what happened,” Gwynn said. Therefore, his administration has been engaged with the Congress for the past several months in matters related to January 6 and will continue to do so, including in the Select Committee.
This story has been updated with comment from the White House.
CNN’s Ryan Nobles, Annie Grier, Jeff Zeleny and Evan Perez contributed to this report.
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