More than a dozen boxes of records were retrieved last month from the former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) confirmed Monday.
When Trump’s term expired, over 15 boxes of documents and other items were not transferred to NARA as required under the Presidential Records Act, so they started negotiation process with Trump’s lawyers late last year that resulted in a transfer that was carried out in mid-January.
David Ferriero, the archivist of the United States, underlined that NARA pursues the return of records whenever they have been improperly removed or have not been appropriately transferred to official accounts.
He stressed that complying with the Presidential Records Act is critical to the US democracy in order to hold its leaders accountable.
According to media reports citing people familiar with the retrieved contents, among the returned records were letters that Trump has exchanged with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as well as the letter President Obama left upon the transfer of power in 2017.
However, NARA is also searching for other records from the Trump era that must be turned over in addition to the boxes transmitted last month, since the Presidential Records Act directs all administrations to preserve all communication and written documentation related to the White House.
Although previous presidents have also failed to adhere entirely to the preservation strictures required by the law, Trump’s record-keeping practices have proven to be a real challenge.
It was recently revealed that Trump had a habit of ripping up documents after he was done with them so the NARA staff was forced to tape back together some of his White House documents so they can be handed over to the House select committee investigating January 6.
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