Officials at the National Archives and Records Administration recently told a congressional committee that they are “not certain” if they collected all the presidential records retained by former President Donald Trump.
In response, the House Oversight Committee is demanding the National Archives “conduct an urgent review” of whether any Trump administration material remains outstanding and pursue “personal certification” from Trump that he surrendered all the documents.
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“NARA’s staff recently informed the Committee that the agency is not certain whether all presidential records are in its custody,” Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) wrote in a letter to the National Archives on Tuesday. “Please also assess any other limitations on the completeness, accuracy, and accessibility of presidential records provided to NARA by the Trump Administration.”
Maloney gave the agency a deadline of Sept. 27 to complete an assessment of Trump administration records it has in its possession.
While acknowledging that presidents are not required to certify that all documents have been transferred to the agency upon their departure from the White House, Maloney argued that “exceptional circumstances in this case warrant” the agency to insist on Trump giving certification.
News: House Oversight asks National Archives to “seek a personal certification” from Trump that he surrendered all presidential records “illegally removed” from White House, per @RepMaloney letter.
NARA recently told panel it’s not certain if all records are in its possession. pic.twitter.com/595C3vD1ja
— Zachary Cohen (@ZcohenCNN) September 13, 2022
“I urge NARA to seek from former President Trump a written certification that he has surrendered all presidential records or classified materials, has not made any copies or reproductions of such materials, and has not transferred any records or government documents to any party other than NARA or DOJ since his term ended,” she continued.
Maloney indicated that staffers on her committee communicated with National Archives staffers on Aug. 24 and learned that the agency was unsure of whether or not it retrieved all of Trump’s presidential records. The House Oversight Committee has been conducting its own inquiry of Trump’s presidential record-keeping — separate from the Justice Department’s investigation.
Several months after Trump departed the White House, National Archives discovered discrepancies in the Trump administration records and made contact with Trump lawyers in May 2021. It took until January 2022 for staffers to retrieve those documents from his Mar-a-Lago estate.
It collected 15 boxes and discovered classified material, which laid the groundwork for the DOJ investigation that culminated in the Aug. 8 search and seizure at Mar-a-Lago. The House Oversight Committee announced an investigation into the matter last February following news of the initial January exchange with the National Archives.
The Presidential Records Keeping Act of 1978 is a Watergate-era policy that requires presidents to preserve documents and transfer them to the National Archives at the end of their term in office. However, the law lacks “any real enforcement mechanism,” James Grossman, executive director of the American Historical Association, told the Washington Post.
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Different laws govern the handling of classified material. The DOJ is investigating possible violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice in its inquiry of Trump’s document handling, according to an unsealed warrant for the August raid.
Over 100 documents with classified markings and 10,000 additional documents were recovered by FBI agents from the August search at Mar-a-Lago. A Trump lawyer had attested in a sworn statement that classified material had been given to the government prior to the August raid.
