Historians Sue Trump Administration to Protect Presidential Records From Destruction

The American Historical Association and American Oversight filed suit after the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel declared the Presidential Records Act unconstitutional.

“The historians who are suing over the Trump administration’s eschewal of a Watergate-era records retention law for presidential documents said Tuesday that the National Archives won’t agree not to destroy those records while their case is litigated”

CNN

The lawsuit argues the memo defies binding Supreme Court precedent and represents a radical attempt to nullify a law that has governed presidential records for nearly half a century.

CNN

The Presidential Records Act requires presidents to preserve White House records and transfer them to the National Archives at the end of each administration.

The law was instrumental in the chain of events that led to Trump's prosecution for mishandling classified documents.

The historians warned that without court intervention, presidential records will be irretrievably lost.

The historians said the National Archives will not agree to refrain from destroying records while the case is litigated.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs had reached out to the DOJ seeking assurances that records wouldn’t be destroyed, but the DOJ said it could not agree.

mezha.net

The plaintiffs asked the National Archives to agree it would not destroy records and would continue to make documents available for public records requests.

They also asked for assurances that White House staff will preserve documents and follow requirements for messaging apps.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ordered the parties to come up with a briefing schedule.

The White House said Trump is committed to preserving records but stopped short of committing to hand them over to the National Archives.

“American Oversight and the American Historical Association have filed suit challenging a sweeping memorandum from the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel that declared the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional and that President Donald Trump “need not further comply” with its requirements, effectively encouraging the president to violate federal law”

New York Almanack

The classified documents prosecution was shut down after Trump won reelection.

Trump fired the Archivist who was in place when he returned to the White House last year.

The lawsuit raises urgent concerns about current record-keeping practices in the wake of the OLC memo.

Legal experts warn that applying the opinion could block public access to hundreds of millions of records.