Trump has denied any wrongdoing. (file)
Washington:
Documents torn down, stuffed in toilets or deported to Florida – the list of alleged violations of laws on the protection of presidential papers by former US leader Donald Trump grew longer and more bizarre on Thursday.
Trump’s breaking of many previously accepted norms of presidential dignity was part of his populist charm for Republican supporters. But now the National Archives, which is in charge of preserving the president’s records, reportedly wants Trump to investigate, among other things, his habit of literally tearing up White House papers while in office.
According to The Washington Post, the archives requested the Justice Department to investigate Trump’s practices.
It came as the Government Records Office confirmed on Monday that it had recovered 15 boxes of documents from Trump’s Florida estate after he left Washington after his re-election.
Among the documents were official correspondence with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un – a “love letter,” as Trump described him at the time. Similarly involved in a Florida disguise was a letter that outgoing President Barack Obama sent to Trump in the Oval Office.
Last week, the archives confirmed reports that Trump had torn documents, some of which have been taped back together.
Under the Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978, which was passed in the wake of the Watergate scandal, US presidents are required to transfer all emails, letters and other work documents to the National Archives.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing. In a statement on Thursday, he described his dealings with the archives as “without conflict and on a very friendly basis.”
“The media’s characterization of my relationship with NARA (National Archives) is fake news. It was the exact opposite! It was a great honor to work with NARA to help formally preserve the Trump legacy.”
down the toilet
But Thursday took a new turn.
Axios reports that a new book on Trump’s time in office claims the White House toilet will be clogged after attempts to flush office papers.
New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman’s forthcoming book “Confidence Man” states that “Employees at the White House residence periodically discovered printed paper clogging a toilet—and believed the president to have a piece of paper.” flushed,” according to an exclusive preview by Axios.
The book, based on Haberman’s post-presidential interviews with Trump, reports that Republicans have told people he has been in contact with North Korea’s Kim.
Trump also denied the toilet story.
“Furthermore, another fake story, that I flushed papers and documents in the toilet of the White House, is clearly untrue and only made up by a reporter to promote a mostly fictional book,” he wrote.
Haberman’s book is due to be published on October 4. The veteran Times journalist has been on the Trump beat for a decade and has long had unmatched access to the wealth tycoon-politician’s inner circle among journalists.
Controversy is growing in Democratic-controlled Congress, where a special committee investigating the January 6, 2020 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters is struggling to obtain records of the former president.
On Thursday, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform in Congress announced it was opening its investigation into stray records.
“I am deeply concerned,” said Representative Carolyn Maloney, the committee chair. “I am also concerned by recent reports that while in office, President Trump repeatedly attempted to destroy the president’s records, which could result in additional serious violations.”
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
,