The public agency in charge of preserving the documents of the American presidents, the United States National Archives Administration, suspects that Donald Trump may have taken classified information to his Florida mansion after leaving the White House in 2021, according to several local media published on Wednesday. . The Republican took with him several boxes with documents despite the fact that he was obliged by law to deliver them to the aforementioned institution, but the Supreme Court forced him to return them last January. In reviewing them, archivists have come across material they suspect may be classified. The Democrat-majority House Oversight Committee has decided to open an investigation.
The president of this committee, Carolyn Maloney, declared herself “deeply concerned” on Thursday about the matter, which she had already promised to investigate weeks ago, when the former president’s excess came to light. On Wednesday, Maloney sent a letter to the archivist of the United States, the head of this body, David S. Ferriero, asking for information in order to “examine the degree and impact” of Trump’s breach. The letter, cited by Washington Postask for a list of all recovered materials, as well as those that have been destroyed or damaged.
According to him post, National Archives has also asked the Department of Justice to investigate it, although sources from this Department have declined to confirm if there will be any type of investigation. Specifically, the institution explained that it has recovered fifteen boxes of documents that included everything from letters from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the note left by his predecessor, Democrat Barack Obama, on his last day in the Oval Office, a custom among the presidents of the United States when they take over.
Trump replied this Thursday through a statement that he delivered the documents to the government agency “in a friendly and conflict-free manner” and described them as “lies” (fake news) media story. The 15 boxes of contention, he said, contained “letters, records, diaries, magazines, and miscellaneous items” that will one day be brought together at the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library so the public can see firsthand the “incredible accomplishments” of Trump. his Government towards “the American people”.
The Presidential Records Act of 1978 requires presidents to give all of their emails, letters, and other paper or digital business documents to the National Archives. Breaches are not uncommon, as many senior officials use their cell phones and personal emails for business matters that should be officially recorded, and in the past the National Archives have had to retrieve documents from the White House after the affected president has left office.
Trump, in fact, took advantage of this Thursday’s statement to put discord against Hillary Clinton, who was investigated – and heavily criticized – for having used her personal mail server to deal with her work matters when she was Secretary of State (2009-2013 ), although the FBI found no reason to charge him with crimes. “The crooked Hillary Clinton, for example, deleted and acid washed 32,000 emails and never turned them over to the government. Also, large amounts of furniture were taken from the White House,” she snapped.
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The case of the Republican, however, has been surprising due to the volume of material transferred with his departure and because many of the recovered documents are stuck with adhesive tape. The Republican used to tear up the memos after reading them and the staff had to go after him putting them back together. This Thursday he also had to deny that he had thrown some papers down the toilet, something that journalist Maggie Haberman, from New York Timesin a book that he publishes in October, but from which extracts have begun to be known this Thursday.
The Congressional commission investigating the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 requested material from the White House for its investigations and Trump refused to deliver it, but the Supreme Court ended up forcing him. This committee has also found gaps in the information on the calls on the day of the attack, since few calls made by Trump during those hours have been found, when it was known that the president was making them, according to what was advanced this Thursday. New York Times. Thus, the committee expects to receive additional material from the National Archives Administration and telecommunications companies, to which subpoenas have been sent to obtain call records from the former president’s circle, such as his son Eric and Kimberly Guilfoyle, the couple of his other son, Donald junior. If the Justice Department intervenes, the matter would enter another phase and become a new investigation into the Republican.
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