National Archives Asks DOJ to Look into Trump’s Handling of White House Records, Report Says

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The National Archives reportedly has asked the Justice Department to “examine” former President Donald Trump’s handling of presidential records.

The report from the Washington Post follows revelations that the Archives were forced to recover over 15 boxes of documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate – documents Trump was legally bound to hand over under the Presidential Records Act.

The Post first reported Monday on the agency salvaging the documents from Trump, noting, “The items included correspondence with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which Trump once described as ‘love letters,’ as well as a letter left for his successor by President Barack Obama.”

The Post notes that the Archives referring the issue to the Justice Department comes amid “discussions among federal law enforcement officials about whether they should investigate the former president for a possible crime, according to two people familiar with the matter.”

Past reporting has detailed Trump’s affinity for shredding documents while in office.

“Trump’s shredding of paper in the White House was far more widespread and indiscriminate than previously known and — despite multiple admonishments — extended throughout his presidency,” read one article from the weekend on the topic.

CNN reported at the end of January that “Some Trump White House documents that have been handed over to the House select committee investigating January 6 had to be taped back together by National Archives staff because they had been ripped up, the agency said in a statement.”

“It is absolutely a violation of the act,” Courtney Chartier, president of the Society of American Archivists told the Post. “There is no ignorance of these laws. There are White House manuals about the maintenance of these records.”