The National Archives and Records Administration says that it is missing records from the Trump administration that it says were supposed to be turned over at the end of his term.
“While there is no easy way to establish absolute accountability, we do know that we do not have custody of everything we should,” Archivist Debra Steidel Wall said in a letter to the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Wall explained that the National Archives does not have some messages sent and received by members of the Trump administration that were sent on unofficial accounts while doing business for the president.
“NARA has been able to obtain such records from a number of former officials and will continue to pursue the return of similar types of Presidential records from former officials,” the letter said. “As appropriate, NARA would consult with the Department of Justice on whether ‘to initiate an action for the recovery of records unlawfully removed,’ as established under the Federal Records Act.”
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE SEEKS EXPEDITED APPEAL OF SPECIAL MASTER APPOINTMENT FROM 11TH CIRCUIT
Former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters at a rally to support local candidates on Sept. 3, 2022 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The letter declined to answer whether Trump surrendered all of his presidential records and instead directed that question to the Justice Department.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Trump spokesperson Liz Harrington said the Constitution and Presidential Records Act are on the former president’s side.
“The National Archives didn’t seem to have a problem when previous presidents stored records at abandoned unsecured furniture warehouses across the street from a McDonald’s,” Harrington said, “but they do seem to have a problem with the Constitution which they put a ‘harmful content’ warning label on, and the Presidential Records Act, both of which are on President Trump’s side.”
JUDGE OVERRULES SPECIAL MASTER ORDER FOR TRUMP TO GIVE ‘FINAL’ OBJECTIONS ON FBI SEARCH INVENTORY
Local law enforcement officers are seen in front of the home of former President Donald Trump at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Aug. 9, 2022. (GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)
“Former President Trump and his senior staff have shown an utter disregard for the rule of law and our national security by failing to return presidential records as the law requires,” House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat, said in a statement Saturday.
“I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure that all presidential records from the Trump White House are returned to the custody of the government and to make sure these abuses never happen again,” Maloney added.
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This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and redacted by in part by the FBI (Department of Justice via AP)
Trump is currently embroiled in a legal battle with the Department of Justice over documents that resulted in the FBI raiding his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida in August.
