• Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
  • CCPA
  • Medical Disclaimer
Monday, January 30, 2023
Maryland Digital News
  • Home
  • US
  • Business
  • World
  • Baltimore
  • Columbia
  • Germantown
  • Waldorf
  • Silver Spring
  • Frederick
  • Press Releases
  • Videos
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • US
  • Business
  • World
  • Baltimore
  • Columbia
  • Germantown
  • Waldorf
  • Silver Spring
  • Frederick
  • Press Releases
  • Videos
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home US

Flushed Or Just Lost To History? Trump Leaves Hole In The Record.

by NewsReporter
February 13, 2022
in US
Reading Time: 5 mins read
flushed-or-just-lost-to-history?-trump-leaves-hole-in-the-record.
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Former President Donald Trump says he never flushed history down a White House toilet.

But some historians and public-interest advocates say that new revelations about Trump’s habit of destroying documents — along with his decision to take at least 15 boxes of items home from Washington — have exposed holes in the law governing the preservation of White House records and threatened to muddy the picture of his presidency in ways that are significant for posterity and the rule of law.

“You can’t hold anyone accountable and you can’t write an accurate history if you don’t know all that’s there,” said Lee White, a lawyer who is executive director of the National Coalition for History. “For historians, it’s the old ‘if the tree falls in the forest and no one is there,’ how are you going to know a record is missing if it’s missing?”

Records of the Trump presidency have been a hot topic in Washington recently because of his efforts to shield information from the special House committee investigating his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, which was designed to prevent the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory — and Trump’s defeat — in the 2020 election.

As president, Trump made a habit of tearing up White House records, and the National Archives has said that it received some documents that had been taped back together and others that remained in tatters.

When he left office, Trump took some records to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida — where they were recently retrieved by the Archives. White House call logs from Jan. 6 do not show any calls to or from Trump during the assault on the Capitol, despite public reporting that he spoke to lawmakers while it was under way, a source familiar with the records confirmed to NBC News.

And in her forthcoming book on Trump, New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman reports that White House aides sometimes found wads of printed paper jamming toilets and believed Trump had flushed them, according to Axios.

In a statement issued Thursday, Trump asserted the reporting in the book “Confidence Man,” due to be released in October, is false.

“Another fake story, that I flushed papers and documents down a White House toilet, is categorically untrue and simply made up by a reporter in order to get publicity for a mostly fictitious book,” he said. At the same time, he confirmed that he had taken boxes to Mar-a-Lago, which he described as containing “letters, records, newspapers, magazines, and various articles.”

That set includes what Trump once called “love letters” from North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un and the traditional predecessor-to-successor note that President Barack Obama left for Trump during the 2017 transition of power, as well as documents marked classified and “top secret,” the Washington Post reported.

Under the Presidential Records Act, a law enacted in response to President Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal and updated most recently in 2014, White House officials, including the president, are required to preserve most documents and recordings for transfer to the National Archives. The agency provides training to White House officials on the handling of information.

“Who could argue with the merits of it?” former Rep. Mike Harrington, D-Mass., who was a co-sponsor of the 1978 law, said in a telephone interview. “And who could argue that this guy doesn’t care what the ground rules are?”

From time to time, presidential records or other public property have gone missing from the White House. In December 2009, for example, President Barack Obama’s administration recovered 22 million “missing” emails from President George W. Bush’s White House that had been mislabeled. And White House aides, under Republican and Democratic administrations, have long found ways to keep their communications and meetings private, from meeting lobbyists at coffee shops off the White House grounds to the use of party email servers and apps that automatically erase messages.

“You are going to have mistakes,” said Trudy Peterson, who served as acting archivist of the United States during the first two years of President Bill Clinton’s administration. “What I think is unusual this time is the volume.”

Peterson said that it is a matter of “good governance and democracy” for the White House to create and preserve documents. “Records make it possible for the citizen to know how the government operated and to hold the government accountable for its actions,” she said.

But the law contains no enforcement mechanism. There is no penalty for violating it, and the National Archives cannot compel a president or his aides to comply with it.

“The archivist has no legal authority; all they can do is advise,” said Anne Weismann, a public-interest lawyer who sued the government over the Bush White House emails when she was chief counsel for the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Weismann said federal courts have frowned on civil suits involving the Presidential Records Act on the grounds that they have no role in a separation-of-powers fight that rests between the executive and legislative branches of government. But she said Trump’s behavior could amount to criminal conduct under two separate laws banning the destruction of federal property and doing so in a federal building.

“Both statutes apply, but they are criminal statutes which means the conduct has to be willful,” she said. “I think the evidence here strongly suggests willful conduct.”

Historians say that past presidents have treated their records with respect for a variety of reasons, including the law, a public interest in understanding how and why decisions were made, and the smooth transition of wisdom and knowledge from one president to the next. What Trump has done, some of them say, represents a departure from the standard practice of presidents in the post-Nixon era.

“The presidential records act was created so that this would never happen again,” said James Grossman, executive director of the American Historical Association. 

Read More Here

Related Posts

experts-react-to-officer-involved-grand-rapids-shooting

Experts React To Officer-Involved Grand Rapids Shooting

by NewsReporter
April 14, 2022
0

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WLNS) – Videos released Wednesday that show a Grand Rapids Police Officer shooting a Black man in the back of the head have shocked many around the state, including law enforcement experts. 6 News showed the videos to two experts, one is a Michigan State University professor...

photos:-firefighter-battle-major-blaze-at-hotel-construction-site-in-camarillo

Photos: Firefighter Battle Major Blaze At Hotel Construction Site In Camarillo

by NewsReporter
April 13, 2022
0

© Copyright Gannett 2022 Read More Here

explainer:-what-do-new-alabama-laws-say-on-transgender-kids?

EXPLAINER: What Do New Alabama Laws Say On Transgender Kids?

by NewsReporter
April 12, 2022
0

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama has become the first state to criminalize the use of puberty blockers and hormones to treat transgender people under age 19. In line with some other Republican-led states, legislators here also passed a law requiring students to use bathrooms corresponding to their sex at birth and...

biden-to-announce-new-gun-regulation-–-follow-live

Biden To Announce New Gun Regulation – Follow Live

by NewsReporter
April 11, 2022
0

(Getty Images)President Joe Biden is expected to announce new gun regulations on Monday to rein in so-called “ghost guns” — privately made firearms without serial numbers that have been used in several high-profile violent crimes.Mr Biden is expected to nominate Steve Dettlebach, an Obama-era US attorney, to run the Bureau...

Maryland Digital News

© 2021 Maryland Digital News

Navigate Site

  • Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
  • CCPA
  • Medical Disclaimer

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • DMCA Policy
  • Medical Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure
  • CCPA
  • Terms of Use

© 2021 Maryland Digital News

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT