White House says Trump deserves to be held accountable for attempting to overthrow the government

Sarah K. Burris
October 19, 2021

Donald Trump and Joe Biden (Photos: Screen capture and AFP)

The White House made it clear on Tuesday that they have no intention of protecting former President Donald Trump from any accountability involving the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

In a statement about Trump's lawsuit declaring executive privilege to protect him from submitting information about Jan. 6 and what led to it, the White House made it clear they have every intention of turning over information.

"Former President Trump abused the office of the presidency and attempted to subvert a peaceful transfer of power," said the statement. "The former president's actions represented a unique - and existential - threat to our democracy that can't be swept under the rug. As President Biden determined, the constitutional protections of executive privilege should not be used to shield information that reflects a clear and apparent effort to subvert the Constitution itself."

Trump filed a lawsuit late Monday in an attempt to block documents from being turned over to the Jan. 6 House Select Committee. He has also told anyone subpoenaed by the committee to defy the subpoena, even if they risk being held in criminal contempt.