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1 1 (September 20, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveenw0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ______ ~*Research Service Executive Privilege and the January 6 Investigations: The Presidential Records Act and Relevant Judicial Considerations September 20, 2021 As discussed in this companion Sidebar, a former President retains the right to invoke executive privilege to protect covered communications that were made while in office. The strength of those protections, however, erode over time and weaken further when not supported by the incumbent President. This Sidebar first discusses how these basic principles are reflected in the Presidential Records Act (PRA) and its implementing regulations, which set forth rules for the management and disclosure of a former President's records by the National Archives. The Sidebar then discusses how both the PRA and constitutional considerations could be relevant to a brewing legal dispute between former President Trump and the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Select Committee) over access to the former President's records. The PRA and the Role of the Incumbent President Both a former President's authority to invoke the presidential communications privilege and the importance of the incumbent President's position to that claim are underscored by the PRA. The PRA establishes a statutory framework governing the retention and disclosure of presidential records. Under the law, when any President leaves office his official records remain the property of the federal government and are transferred to the National Archives. The PRA authorizes the outgoing President to restrict access to various types of documents, including those that involve confidential communications ... between the President and the President's advisers, for up to 12 years after leaving office, at which point the records generally become publicly available. At the expiration of the restricted access period, the law permits former Presidents, as well as the incumbent President, to invoke the presidential communications privilege to prevent public disclosure. The PRA establishes different rules for Congress, which is accorded special access to presidential records held by the National Archives at any time after a President leaves office. If any congressional committee requests presidential records on a matter within its jurisdiction that are needed for the conduct of its business and that is not otherwise available, the law provides that the National Archives shall make the records available. However, the provision also preserves the right of former Presidents to assert privilege Congressional Research Service https://crsreports. congress.gov LSB10643 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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