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Biden orders Trump White House visitor logs be turned over to House Jan. 6 committee

President Joe Biden
Posted at 7:46 AM, Feb 16, 2022
and last updated 2022-02-16 07:57:30-05

President Joe Biden has ordered the National Archives to hand over the White House visitor logs kept by the Trump Administration to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

Trump and his allies have resisted handing over the visitor logs to the committee, citing executive privilege. But Biden's order Wednesday rejected that argument.

According to The New York Times, White House counsel Dana Remus ordered the release of the logs in a letter to the National Archives. In her letter, she wrote that it "is not in the best interests of the United States, and therefore is not justified, as to these records and portions of records."

The committee has sought a trove of data from the National Archives, including presidential records that Trump had fought to keep private.

The records being released to Congress are visitor logs showing appointment information for individuals allowed to enter the White House on the day of the riots.

According to CNN, the Jan. 6 committee has agreed to keep the names of some people on the logs confidential. That agreement extends to people whose visits were "national-security sensitive" or "otherwise-highly sensitive" as confidential and to refrain from sharing or discussing such entries outside the Select Committee without prior consultation."