Former President Donald Trump has chosen his most recent White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and his former impeachment lawyers to serve as gatekeepers to his presidential records.
Since Wednesday, Trump’s records have been the property of the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Archives said. Outgoing presidents typically choose representatives to handle requests for them in disclosing White House records.
Trump faces a pending impeachment trial in the Senate. The records, which are specially accessible to congressional lawmakers, President Biden, and the courts, could become relevant in future legal proceedings against Trump.
Trump named seven representatives to secure his records, which include Meadows, former White House counsel Pat Cipollone, former National Security Council legal adviser John Eisenberg, former head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel Steven Engel, and three lawyers — Patrick Philbin, Scott Gast, and Michael Purpura — who worked under him as deputy White House counsels.
The National Archives press office confirmed the list to the Washington Examiner.
Philbin, Gast, and Purpura defended Trump during his 2019 impeachment trial by the Democratic-led House on two charges related to Ukraine. He was later acquitted by the GOP-controlled Senate.
Trump was impeached by the House on a charge of “incitement of insurrection” after a violent riot Jan. 6 at the Capitol that left five people dead. Trump, who awaits a Senate trial, is the first president in history to be impeached twice.
Trump left office on Wednesday and was succeeded by Biden.
