The National Archives and Records Administration reportedly asked the Justice Department to evaluate former President Donald Trump‘s handling of White House records.
The request triggered internal Justice Department discussions about whether officials should investigate Trump for a possible crime, sources told the Washington Post. Last month, the National Archives collected 15 boxes that were improperly kept at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
NATIONAL ARCHIVES SCRAMBLES TO COUNTER TRUMP’S PAPER HOARDING AND RIPPING HABITS
“Throughout the course of the last year, NARA obtained the cooperation of Trump representatives to locate Presidential records that had not been transferred to the National Archives at the end of the Trump administration,” the National Archives told the Washington Examiner in a statement. “When a representative informed NARA in December 2021 that they had located some records, NARA arranged for them to be securely transported to Washington. NARA officials did not visit or ‘raid’ the Mar-a-Lago property.”
When asked about reporting of a requested inquiry into Trump, the National Archives told the Washington Examiner that it does not comment on “potential or ongoing investigations.” A spokesperson for the Justice Department and Trump did not respond to requests for comment.
Officials at the National Archives had concerns that some of the documents kept at Mar-a-Lago contained classified information, the Washington Post reported. Sources said the discussions were preliminary and that the Justice Department might be interested in reclaiming some of the material.
The boxes reportedly contained items such as notes from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and former President Barack Obama. Trump advisers told the Washington Post that the boxes largely contained mementos from his presidency and were not kept at Mar-a-Lago for nefarious reasons. Another former president, Bill Clinton, also had to return items he took after leaving the White House.
The Presidential Records Act of 1978 requires key White House documents to be preserved for the historical record. It does not have clear penalties for presidents who violate it, but there are different laws that govern the handling of classified information.
In addition to holding on to some documents after leaving the White House, Trump also reportedly had a habit of ripping up documents. This forced aides to follow him and try to tape together important documents in order to comply with the Presidential Records Act, Politico reported.
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Democrat Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, said the panel will investigate why Trump had key documents and items at Mar-a-Lago.
“I plan to fully investigate this incident to ensure the law is followed and records from the Trump administration are with the National Archives where they belong, rather than stashed away in Trump’s golf resorts,” she told the Washington Post.
