During any presidential administration, the White House is expected to keep immaculate records to be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration at the end of their term. While every modern president has had small issues that had to be rectified after they left office, it seems that Donald Trump had more difficulty than most.
According to The Washington Post sources, the National Archives and Records Administration paid a visit to Mar-a-Lago last month to retrieve key documents, including “correspondence with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un” and “a letter left for his successor by President Barack Obama.” These items are a crucial part of the Presidential Records Act, which “establishes public ownership of all Presidential records and defines the term Presidential records,” per the National Archives.
Former President Donald Trump and former First Lady Melania Trump's wedding anniversary plans may sound lonely, but it works for them. https://t.co/Plxp3aZMDg
— SheKnows (@SheKnows) January 23, 2022
Insiders revealed to the media outlet that Trump’s filing system often meant that documents, that should have been preserved for the official record, were often ripped to pieces and had to be taped back together. While that may seem trivial from the outside, presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky told The Washington Post that it could “pose a real concern if the next administration is flying blind without that information.” The reason the Presidential Records Act exists is that it “is [the] only way that a president can really be held accountable long term.”
A Trump insider believes that there was no “malicious intent to avoid complying with the Presidential Records Act,” it was just an act of bad office habits that followed him to the White House. “As long as he’s been in business, he’s been very transactional and it was probably his longtime practice,” they said. But as one Obama lawyer, who is familiar with the implementation of handing over records asked, “Why has it taken for a year for these boxes to get there? And are there more boxes?” That is a question that has yet to be answered.
SheKnows reached out to a Trump representative for comment.
Before you go, click here to see the biggest presidential scandals in US History.
More Stories from Entertainment
Leave a Comment