Jen Psaki responds to trump suing over Jan 6 docs, says trump “abused the office” and “attempted to subvert a peaceful transfer of power.” “executive privilege should not be used to shield information that reflects a clear and apparent effort to subvert the Constitution itself.”

Q Thanks, Jen. Is the goal of these meetings with lawmakers today to come to an agreement on a topline number by today? MS. PSAKI: Our goal is to continue to make progress. And based on the morning meetings and our expectation of the afternoon meetings, we expect they will do exactly that. Q They’ll come to an agreement on a topline number or they’ll make progress? MS. PSAKI: They’ll make progress. Q Okay. And what is the thinking in having these meetings separately? Because he’s meeting with a group of progressives; he’s meeting with a group of moderate Democrats. Those are the two groups who disagree with each other. So why would they not meet together? MS. PSAKI: Well, these are serious policy discussions, often on nitty-gritty details, and they aren’t duels between factions of the party. There’s broad agreement, actually, about the vast majority of issues here. So, the President is basing this approach on five decades of Washington, which is a pretty good guide for how to get things done, and he felt these were the appropriate groups to come together and bring to the White House today. Q But he wanted to keep them separate? MS. PSAKI: Well, I think it’s important for people to understand it’s not as if these members don’t talk to each other in Congress or don’t have their own meetings with each other. So, this was just his approach — the President’s approach today — again, based on five decades in Washington — about how to get into the nitty-gritty details, which is often what these meetings are about, to make progress and move things forward. Q And can you confirm he also met with Senator Manchin here this morning? MS. PSAKI: He did. He met with Senator Manchin and Senator Sinema this morning. And I think we’ve put out the list of members he’s meeting with this afternoon. Q My last question is one on the lawsuit filed by the former President yesterday — MS. PSAKI: Yep. Q — going after the National Archives and the January 6th committee for seeking documents. He said in the lawsuit — he and his attorney said it is “a political ploy” by this President “to accommodate his partisan allies” by not asserting privilege over the documents that the former President wants privilege asserted over. What’s the President’s response? MS. PSAKI: Well, our view and I think the view of the vast majority of Americans is that former President Trump abused the office of the presidency in attempt to subvert a peaceful transfer of power — something that had happened between Democratic and Republican presidencies for decades and decades throughout history. The former President’s actions represented a unique and existential threat to our democracy that we don’t feel can be swept under the rug. And as President Biden determined and as we have provided updates to all of you as we’ve made — as our legal team has made evaluations, 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.