Former US president Donald Trump sent a letter to the National Archives on Friday arguing that approximately 40 of the documents, which were initially requested by a House committee for investigation into the January 6 Capitol riots, are subject to executive privilege, according to US media reports.

However, earlier in the day, President Joe Biden has determined that invoking executive privilege in this instance “is not in the best interests of the United States,” White House counsel Dana Remus said in a letter to the Archivist of the United States.  

Trump, in a lengthy statement, has sharply criticised the probe into the documents during his reign and accused Democrats of attempting “to use Congress to persecute their political opponents.”

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The letter sent by Trump is in conflict with the stand that President Biden has taken surrounding the papers. In his letter, the former president highlighted roughly 40 records that he objects to being released, and also said he preemptively asserts executive privilege over others in the request that he hasn’t had time to review, citing a 1996 Justice Department legal opinion.

The House committee investigating the Capitol riots asked for the records in August. The records that the committee sought include communication within the White House under Trump and information about planning and funding for rallies held in Washington. Among those events was a rally near the White House featuring remarks by Trump, who egged on a crowd of thousands before loyalists stormed the Capitol.

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In the upcoming steps, the National Archives will now formally notify the White House of Trump’s assertion, and it’s highly likely that Biden will again reject it.

After which, Trump would be left with the only option of going into a legal battle. Trump will have an uphill battle, as courts have traditionally left questions of executive privilege up to the current White House occupant — though the former president’s challenges could delay the committee’s investigation.