Officials from the National Archives reportedly had to visit Former President Donald Trump’s home in Florida to retrieve boxes of official White House records that he failed to turn over to the archives at the end of his presidency as required under the Presidential Records Act.
According to the Washington Post, “multiple boxes” were retrieved from Mar-a-Lago last month. Among the documents were letters from North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un –Trump previously called them “love letters”--and President Barack Obama.
The find once again raises questions about Trump’s adherence to the Presidential Records Act after reports that he tore up White House records and that members of his staff frequently send important documents to the Pentagon in ‘burn bags’ to be incinerated.
Under the Presidential Records Act, memos, notes, letters, emails, faxes and other written correspondence related to the president’s official duties must be handed over to the National Archives for preservation after a president’s term has ended.
Trump’s advisers told the Post that the documents were taken as gifts and mementos of his time in office, not to prevent them from being scrutinized.
