Pro-Trump protesters storm the U.S. Capitol to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., U.S. January 6, 2021.
Ahmed Gaber | Reuters
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
In addition to Thompson and the committee, Trump also is suing the National Archives and Records Administration, and David Ferriero, the Archivist of the United States.
Ferriero received requests for documents and records from Thompson as part of his probe in late August.
“Because the Committee’s requests seek to expose confidential and privileged information while lacking ‘a legitimate legislative purpose,’ this Court has the power to declare the requests invalid and to enjoin their enforcement,” the suit says.
A spokesman for the select committee did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed as the committee pushes ahead with its investigation of the riot, in which hundreds of Trump’s supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol and forced a joint session of Congress into hiding.
The committee, which consists of seven Democrats and two Republicans, has vowed to proceed quickly, and has issued subpoenas to witnesses considered unlikely to cooperate.
On Tuesday, the committee is set to convene to advance criminal contempt proceedings for former senior Trump advisor Steve Bannon over his refusal to comply with a subpoena
The riot began shortly after Trump urged supporters at a rally outside of the White House to march to the Capitol, where a joint session of Congress that day had just begun meeting to confirm the election of Biden as president.
Thousands of people swarmed around and in the Capitol complex, with some members of the mob battling with police who tried to ward them off.
Five people died during or the day after the riot, including a Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was assaulted by some of the rioters.
Trump was impeached by the House for inciting the riot. But he was acquitted by the Senate in a trial that was held after he left office.
