House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) is asking for the National Archives and Records Administration to conduct an examination into whether former President Donald Trump held on to additional documents at his storage facility.
Raising alarms there could be outstanding Trump documents outside the scope of federal inquiries, Maloney referenced recent revelations that an outside team Trump hired discovered at least two additional documents marked as classified at a storage facility in Florida. Trump’s lawyers reportedly later turned them over to the government.
TRUMP HAD ADDITIONAL CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS IN FLORIDA STORAGE UNIT: REPORT
“This inquiry, which is separate from the Department of Justice’s ongoing criminal investigation into Mr. Trump’s actions, seeks to understand the full extent and impact of former President Trump’s violations of the [Presidential Records Act] in order to ‘determine what additional steps, including potential legislative reforms, may be needed to ensure the preservation of presidential records for the American people,’” Maloney wrote in a letter, per the Washington Post.
Last week, reports surfaced that Trump hired an outside team to search his properties over recent weeks to ensure compliance with a May grand jury subpoena demand to hand over classified documents to Justice Department officials.
Investigators combed through his properties in New Jersey and New York but only found outstanding material in one of Trump’s storage units in West Palm Beach, the Washington Post reported. Maloney’s concern is that there could be more unaccounted presidential material that has flown under the radar amid the focus on classified documents.
Maloney’s committee began investigating Trump’s record-keeping apparatus after the National Archives recovered 15 boxes from his Mar-a-Lago resort in January. Under the Presidential Records Act of 1978, outgoing presidents are supposed to preserve documents and turn them over to the National Archives. The law has limited teeth for enforcement.
Upon reviewing the material, National Archives officials discovered documents with classified markings and relayed the matter to the Justice Department. The DOJ opened an investigation that led to the bombshell Aug. 8 raid in which over 100 documents with classified markings were seized from Mar-a-Lago.
Newly appointed special counsel Jack Smith is now overseeing the DOJ’s Mar-a-Lago investigation as well as the department’s review of the Jan. 6 riot and coinciding efforts to overturn the 2020 election. As part of the document review, the DOJ has reportedly been weighing whether violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice occurred.
Trump has denied wrongdoing on both fronts and announced his 2024 campaign last month.
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Maloney fell victim to friendly fire in the midterm elections after New York redistricting upheaval pitted her on a collision course with Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). She has about two weeks left to helm the committee before it falls into Republican control, likely with Rep. James Comer (R-KY) as chairman.
The Washington Examiner reached out to a Maloney representative for comment.
