Trump argues executive privilege protects an outgoing president's documents — claims absolute presidential immunity for the same acts as candidate

In Trump v. Thompson, Trump's position was that executive privilege over presidential records is an enduring protection that a successor cannot waive. In the SCOTUS immunity case, the same privilege framework was extended to argue that retaining and refusing to return those records is itself an immune official act. The two positions combine into a structurally circular claim: the privilege both prevents disclosure AND immunizes the refusal to return the same documents. A protection asserted for one purpose (shielding documents) became a sword for a second purpose (immunizing retention).