Trump battles historians for ownership of US presidential records

Donald Trump's administration wants a return to pre-Nixon days when presidents had total control over their records. (Reuters: Nathan Howard) The administration of US President Donal Trump is in a legal battle for control of presidential records. In May, a court issued an injunction ruling that the White House Office, and all advisors to the president, comply in full with the Presidential Records Act. The White House has signalled it will appeal the court's decision. Link copiedShareShare articleDonald Trump is fighting for control of his presidential records, with two court cases challenging his administration's wish to ignore the Presidential Records Act. The Act covers all "documentary materials", including electronic records, digital communications and text messages, created or received by the president or vice-president, their staff and advisors, that are created as part of the carrying out of their constitutional, statutory, or other responsibilities. For nearly 200 years presidents of the United States were allowed to do whatever they wanted with their records, including destroy them. Prosecutors unseal an indictment against Donald Trump, accusing the former US president of risking some of the country's most sensitive secrets. But that all changed in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal in the 1970s, when the US Congress was concerned about Richard Nixon destroying records to cover up documented actions he and others took in response to investigations connected to a burglary in the Watergate building and his re-election campaign. In 1978, Congress passed the Presidential Records Act, which requires that presidential records automatically transfer into the legal custody of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) as soon as a president leaves office. But the Trump administration is pushing for a return to the pre-Nixon days. The US Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) published an opinion on April 1 that the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional, saying that it exceeds Congress's powers and aggrandises the legislative branch of government at the expense of the executive branch's constitutional independence and autonomy. Two separate but similar court actions are challenging that opinion, asking the court to ensure compliance with the Presidential Records Act. The American Historical Association, a not-for-profit organisation that represents historians, and American Oversight, a non-partisan non-profit watchdog, launched a lawsuit, challenging the OLC opinion. In a separate case, the Freedom of the Press Foundation and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) also sued Mr Trump, US Vice-President JD Vance, the Office of the Vice President, the White House, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and others to defend the Presidential Records Act and require adherence to the statute's public ownership, record-keeping and public disclosure requirements. In May, US District Judge John D Bates Court issued an injunction ruling that the White House Office, National Security Council, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Service, and all advisors to the president to comply in full with the Presidential Records Act. The former US president says the allegedly unannounced raid on his Palm Beach home is "not necessary or appropriate". The court ordered that all presidential and vice-presidential records must be preserved, with Justice Bates writing an opinion for both cases saying that the Presidential Records Act is likely constitutional. "The president is not free to disregard valid laws," the ruling said. "His actions doing so, therefore, are in excess of his constitutional authority and in violation of federal law. "Unpreserved or improperly destroyed documents are 'lost forever to history' and therefore injury from failure to preserve presidential records or the unlawful destruction of those records would be irreparable." American Historical Association executive director, Dr Sarah Weicksel, said the ruling reaffirmed that presidential records belonged to the American people, not to any one individual. "Americans deserve the ability to understand the entirety of their history," she said. "By requiring continued compliance with the Presidential Records Act, this preliminary injunction is an important step forward in ensuring that the documents that tell our nation's history are preserved for future generations." According to the 49-page indictment released today, Donald Trump sent “scores” of boxes to his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida after leaving the White House. American Oversight executive director, Chioma Chukwu, said there was "serious danger" posed by the Trump administration's "attempt to cast aside longstanding federal law governing presidential records and replace it with a system dependent largely on presidential discretion and public trust". "This case has always been about something larger than records management. It is a

Trump battles historians for ownership of US presidential records

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Trump battles historians for ownership of US presidential records

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