The National Archives and Records Administration criticized former President Donald Trump’s recent claims about his predecessor’s handling of documents as “false and misleading.”
During a Nevada rally Saturday night, Trump sought to escape intensifying criticism over his hoarding of documents in Mar-a-Lago by claiming that many of his predecessors, including former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George H.W. Bush had similar presidential records foibles. The National Archives rejected that claim Tuesday.
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“Reports that indicate or imply that those Presidential records were in the possession of the former Presidents or their representatives after they left office, or that the records were housed in substandard conditions, are false and misleading,” the agency said in a statement.
Trump told rallygoers over the weekend that his predecessors moved presidential material into insecure locations following their departure from the White House.
“Barack Hussein Obama moved more than 20 truckloads, over 33 million pages of documents, both classified and unclassified, to a poorly built and unsafe former furniture store located in a bad neighborhood in Chicago. With no security, by the way,” Trump claimed, though there is no evidence to back up his allegations.
Trump also took aim at George H.W. Bush, whom he claimed stashed material in a bowling alley. Independent fact-checkers have slammed the claim, noting that the National Archives sifted through Bush’s documents at a facility that was once a Chinese restaurant/bowling alley while his library was being developed.
I am so confused. My dad enjoyed a good Chinese meal and enjoyed the challenge of 7 10 split. What the heck is up with you? https://t.co/LT1jET2kor
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) October 10, 2022
“George H.W. Bush took millions of documents to a former bowling alley and a former Chinese restaurant where they combined them. So, they’re in a bowling alley/Chinese restaurant,” Trump bemoaned at the rally.
“When will they investigate and prosecute Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, George Bush, and look into what took place with George Bush’s father?” Trump asked. “And what about Barack Hussein Obama?”
While refraining from calling him out by name, the National Archives underscored that it assumed custody of the presidential records for Trump’s predecessors that he name-dropped during the rally.
“NARA securely moved these records to temporary facilities that NARA leased from the General Services Administration (GSA), near the locations of the future Presidential Libraries that former Presidents built for NARA. All such temporary facilities met strict archival and security standards, and have been managed and staffed exclusively by NARA employees,” the agency said.
Trump, by contrast, hoarded hundreds of thousands of pages worth of documents in his Mar-a-Lago resort following his White House exit. The National Archives collected 15 boxes from the resort in January and discovered material with classified markings, prompting a Justice Department investigation.
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In the time since, the DOJ has discovered at least 325 records with classification markings from the Mar-a-Lago tranche with 162 being “SECRET,” 103 “CONFIDENTIAL,” and 60 “TOP SECRET,” NBC reported. Trump has denied any wrongdoing, claiming a president can declassify material “even by thinking about it.”
The DOJ is examining possible obstruction of justice and violations of the Espionage Act in the case, according to court documents.
