Report: Archives Wants DoJ to Investigate Trump Records

Former president is accused of 'flagrant' violations of federal records law
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 7, 2022 7:41 AM CST
Updated Feb 10, 2022 7:58 AM CST
National Archives Took Back Trump Boxes From Mar-a-Lago
Former President Trump speaks at a rally on Jan. 15, 2022, in Florence, Ariz.   (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

Update: Former President Trump's apparent mishandling of his administration's records could be the subject of a federal investigation. Sources tell the Washington Post that the National Archives has asked the Justice Department to look into whether federal law was violated. Archives officials say 15 boxes of Trump administration records have been recovered from his Mar-a-Lago estate and there could be more to come. Anne Weismann, chief counsel for the Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility group, tells the Post that while other administrations have mishandled records and the relevant statute may be "essentially not enforceable," it would set a bad precedent if there was no investigation of such "flagrant" violations of federal records laws. Our story from Monday follows:

It's probably a safe bet that Donald Trump is the least favorite president of employees at the National Archives, for reasons that have nothing to do with politics. Last week, it emerged that Trump was causing headaches because of his long-standing habit of ripping up paper records, which then had to be taped backed together for posterity. Now, the Washington Post reports on a new issue: The Archives had to take the unprecedented step of retrieving multiple boxes of records Trump took with him to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House.

The boxes included letters Trump exchanged with North Korea's Kim Jong Un—"we fell in love," Trump memorably said at the time—as well as a letter left for Trump by predecessor Barack Obama. The Post quotes Trump advisers as saying that no sinister motives were behind the decision to keep the boxes. But the newspaper frames it as another example of how Trump flouts the Presidential Records Act—which requires that presidential documents be turned over to the Archives—to a degree none of his predecessors reached. The boxes were retrieved last month after months of negotiations with Trump's attorneys. (More Donald Trump stories.)

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