National Archives asks DOJ to probe Trump’s handling of White House records [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The National Archives has asked the Justice Department to investigate former President Donald Trump’s handling of White House records.
• The Archives recently retrieved 15 boxes of documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
• Officials said the records were improperly taken in violation of the Presidential Records Act.

The National Archives and Records Administration has asked the Justice Department to examine whether former President Donald Trump’s handling of White House records violated federal law.

One official said it’s unclear whether the Justice Department would take up the request, saying it’s all very preliminary. The Washington Post first reported the National Archives’ request.

The National Archives said Monday that Trump had to return 15 boxes of documents that were improperly taken from the White House.

In mid-January, the National Archives “arranged for the transport from the Trump Mar-a-Lago property in Florida to the National Archives of 15 boxes that contained Presidential records, following discussions with President Trump’s representatives in 2021,” the agency said in a statement.

Among the items Trump had to return were correspondence with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that Trump has described as “beautiful letters,” two sources told The Post, as well as a handwritten letter that former President Barack Obama had left behind in the Oval Office for his successor. NBC News hasn’t independently confirmed the contents of the boxes.

The National Archives said items covered under the Presidential Records Act should have been turned over at the end of the Trump administration. The act mandates that all presidential records must be properly preserved by each administration so a complete set of records is transferred to the National Archives at the end of the administration, the agency’s archivist said.

The National Archives previously found that Trump had ripped up some White House documents preserved by the agency, which government officials had to tape back together.

As reported by Axios, an upcoming book by the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman says that staff in the White House residence periodically discovered a toilet had been clogged by wads of printed paper, which they believed had been flushed down the commode by the former president.

Source: NBC News