Lawmakers Ask National Archives to Certify Whether Trump Returned All Presidential Records
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) who has represented New York City's Upper East Side since 1993, speaks to supporters on August 22, 2022 in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
By
Frank Konkel
A Congressional committee expressed concern that former President Donald Trump may still possess presidential records at non-secure locations.
The House Oversight Committee expressed concern Tuesday that former President Donald Trump may yet retain presidential records and classified material at non-secure locations, and seeks an “urgent review” by the U.S. National Archives to determine whether any records remain unaccounted for and potentially in his possession.
In a letter to Debra Wall, acting archivist of the United States, House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., also asked the National Archives to seek written certification from Trump that he has surrendered all presidential records and classified materials and has not copied or transferred any records.
The letter comes a little more than a month after the FBI performed a court-authorized search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, seizing more than 11,000 records, including almost 100 documents bearing classification markings. The removal of classified government documents by the FBI came two months after Trump’s attorney certified all classified documents had been returned to the government.
“The Committee is concerned that, given this pattern of conduct, Mr. Trump may continue to retain presidential records at non-secure locations, including classified material that could endanger our nation’s security and other important records documenting Mr. Trump’s activities at the White House. NARA’s staff recently informed the Committee that the agency is not certain whether all presidential records are in its custody,” Maloney said in the letter.
“In light of the serious risk that Mr. Trump may still be retaining sensitive government records at Mar-a-Lago or his other properties, I urge NARA to seek a personal certification from Donald Trump that he has surrendered all presidential records that he illegally removed from the White House after leaving office,” Maloney added. “I also ask that the agency conduct an urgent review of presidential records recovered from the Trump White House to assess whether presidential records remain unaccounted for and potentially in the possession of the former president.”
Maloney’s letter requests the National Archives provide an initial assessment of its review findings by Sept. 27.