Judge Rejects Request to Unseal Executive Privilege Arguments Related to the Jan. 6 Grand Jury

Judge Beryl Howell, the chief judge of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, has decided not to unseal filings and rulings ancillary to the material presented to the grand jury investigating Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The New York Times and I had made that request, along with Politico and Kyle Cheney. I was hoping to liberate for public understanding the briefs and rulings about whether Trump’s former aides could lawfully avoid answering questions as witnesses under executive privilege, a hidden fight that has raised novel issues about the extent of a former president to assert residual secrecy powers and that has likely set precedents that will affect unrelated future disputes.