WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will have a big say in whether the government releases information to Congress on the actions of former President Donald Trump and his aides on Jan. 6. But there could be a lengthy court battle before any details come out.

The House committee investigating the January insurrection at the U.S. Capitol asked last month for a trove of records, including 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.

A person familiar with the matter confirmed that the first tranche of documents from the Trump White House was turned over by the National Archives at the end of last month to the White House and Trump. Either party can object to the release of specific items. And Biden’s White House has the right to overrule a Trump effort to block the release of information.

Beyond that, the former president may sue to block it all. Or Congress could choose to sue if legislators felt the Biden White House wanted to hold back too much. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Trump has said he would cite executive privilege and refuse to hand over any details. The legal maneuver has been used for decades by presidents and staff — including Trump himself — to avoid scrutiny by Congress.

But Trump doesn’t necessarily have the final word now that he’s out of office. According to a executive order on presidential records, the archivist who is in possession of the records “shall abide by any instructions given him by the incumbent President or his designee unless otherwise directed by a final court order.”

The White House has indicated it is inclined to release as many of the documents as possible; but officials aren’t ruling out that there could be individual records Biden may deem privileged.

Presidents tend to be protective of their executive privilege to keep White House documents private, both for themselves and their predecessors. But any White House move to deny the congressional request for records on Trump’s activities could inflame Democratic legislators just when Biden needs their support to advance his agenda.

The requested documents are part of a lengthy, partisan and rancorous investigation into how a mob was able to infiltrate the Capitol and disrupt the certification of Biden’s presidential victory, inflicting the most serious assault on Congress in two centuries.