U.S. President Joe Biden has rejected former President Donald Trump's executive privilege claims and ordered White House visitor logs to be released to the panel investigating the deadly January 6, 2021, attack, according to a letter released on Wednesday.

In a letter to the National Archives, Biden's White House counsel granted congressional investigators access to the data and ordered the agency to turn over the logs within 15 days "unless prohibited by court order."

"The President has determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the best interests of the United States, and therefore is not justified, as to these records and portions of records," Biden's counsel Dana Remus wrote in the letter dated February 15.

Remus said the logs of those who visited the White House before Trump left on January 20, 2021, should be handed over quickly "in light of the urgency" of the committee's work and Congress' "compelling need."

According to the New York Times, which first reported the letter, the White House planned to inform Trump's lawyers about the decision on Wednesday.

No comment was immediately made from Trump's side and it is unclear whether the former president will try to prevent or slow the release of the records.

Read more:

Capitol attack 1 year: More division, less faith in U.S. democracy

On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters attacked the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. seeking to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election to Biden. 

So far, more than 725 people have been charged with playing a role in the attack that left five people dead and more than 100 police officers injured. Another four police officers involved in defending the Capitol later committed suicide.

The January 6 committee has made 81 subpoenas public, including those issued to top Trump aides and allies, and interviewed more than 560 witnesses. It has also sought records from social media and other telecommunications firms.

(With input from Reuters)