Chairwoman Maloney Urges NARA to Determine Whether President Trump Still Retains Presidential Records
Request Follows Reports that the Former President Stored Additional Classified Materials in Florida Storage Facility
Washington, D.C. (Dec. 13, 2022)—Today, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, sent a letterto Ms. Debra Steidel Wall, Acting Archivist of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), in light of reports that additional classified records were recovered from former President Trump's storage facility in Florida during a recent search and turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This search was conducted after a federal judge directed Trump's legal team to attest that it complied with a May subpoena and had turned over all classified documents.
"I am deeply concerned by former President Trump's flagrant disregard for the PRA," wrote Chairwoman Maloney. "I therefore request that NARA, in consultation with other federal entities as appropriate, conduct a review to determine what, if any, presidential records former President Trump has retained at his storage facility in Florida or his other properties that should be under NARA's custody and control consistent with the Presidential Records Act."
Chairwoman Maloney has written to NARA on multiple occasions since December 2020 expressing concerns about the former President's removal of presidential records, including classified records, and his consistent failure to turn over those records. In response to the Committee's previous letter, NARA stated that while there is no easy way to establish absolute accountability, "we do know that we do not have custody of everything we should."
As the Committee with primary jurisdiction over the PRA, the Oversight Committee has been investigating former President Trump's mishandling of presidential records for 11 months. This inquiry, which is separate from the Department of Justice's ongoing criminal investigation into former President Trump's conduct, seeks to understand "the full extent of this conduct" in order to "determine what additional steps, including potential legislative reforms, may be needed to ensure the preservation of presidential records for the American people."
Click here to read today's letter.