The letter was addressed to Chairman Mike Turner, House Permanent Selection Committee on Intelligence.
Pg. 1, EXCERPTS:
As demonstrated by the discovery of documents with classification markings(1) in the homes of President Trump, President Biden, and Vice President Pence, deficient document handling and storage procedures are not limited to any individual, administration, or political party. A legislative solution by Congress is required to prevent the DOJ from continuing to conduct ham-handed criminal investigations of matters that are not inherently criminal.
Pg. 1, Footnote 1:
The purpose of this letter is not to opine about whether these documents are actually classified or have been declassified, but retain their classification markings. Despite our requests to DOJ, it has refused to tell us whether in its judgment any of the documents remain classified. Similarly, DOJ has refused to allow for inspection of the documents at any time during the last eight months despite the fact that one of our attorneys has sufficient clearance to view the majority of the documents marked as classified.
Pg. 2, "Factual Background" - EXCERPTS:
When President Trump left office, there was little time to prepare for the outgoing transition from the presidency . . . White House staffers and General Service Administration ("GSA") employees quickly packed everything into boxes and shipped them to Florida. This was a stark change from the standard preparations made by GSA and National Archives and Records Administration ("NARA") for prior administrations. As NARA acknowledged in a Press Statement it issued on October 11, 2022:
The National Archives and Records Administration ("NARA"), in accordance with the Presidential Records Act, assumed physical and legal custody of the Presidential records from the administrations of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan, when those Presidents left office. NARA securely moved these records to temporary facilities that NARA leased from the General Services Administration ("GSA"), near the locations of future Presidential Libraries that former Presidents built for NARA. All such temporary facilities met strict archival and security standards, and have been managed and staffed exclusively by NARA employees.
NARA unfortunately has become overtly political and declined to provide archival assistance to President Trump's transition team . . . [bold highlights are my emphasis].
[NARA] did not take custody of the documents and this made necessary the transfer of boxes of documents to President Trump's heavily secured home at Mar-a-Lago. To be clear, had NARA offered President Trump the same assistance that it had provided to all previous Presidents, he would have accepted the offer and there would have been no reason to transfer the documents to Mar-a-Lago.
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Parlatore Law Group is not currently (June 10, 2023) representing President Trump in these matters.
The original post (OP), is a long excerpt. There is more to the Presidential Records Act.
§ 2001.30 Automatic declassification.
§ 2001.31 Systematic declassification review.
§ 2001.32 Declassification guides.
§ 2001.33 Mandatory review for declassification.
§ 2001.35 Discretionary declassification.
§ 2001.36 Classified information in the custody of private organizations or individuals.
"Under the statutory scheme established by the PRA, the decision to segregate personal materials from Presidential records is made by the President, during the President's term and in his sole discretion"
"Since the President is completely entrusted with the management and even the disposal of Presidential records during his time in office, it would be difficult for this Court to conclude that Congress intended that he would have less authority to do what he pleases with what he considers to be his personal records"
Jackson also concluded that a decision to challenge a president's decision lies solely with the National Archives and can't be reviewed by a court. If the Archives wants to challenge a decision, that agency and the attorney general can initiate an enforcement mechanism under the law, but it is a civil procedure and has no criminal penalty, she noted.
A judge ruled Clinton had the right to keep classified documents in his sock drawer
BTTT
He’s being charged under the Espionage Act, not the Presidential Records Act.
Notwithstanding any restrictions on access imposed pursuant to sections 2204 and 2208--
(1) the Archivist and persons employed by the National Archives and Records Administration who are engaged in the performance of normal archival work shall be permitted access to Presidential records in the custody of the Archivist;
(2) subject to any rights, defenses, or privileges which the United States or any agency or person may invoke, Presidential records shall be made available--
(A) pursuant to subpoena or other judicial process issued by a court of competent jurisdiction for the purposes of any civil or criminal investigation or proceeding;
(B) to an incumbent President if such records contain information that is needed for the conduct of current business of the incumbent President’s office and that is not otherwise available; and
(C) to either House of Congress, or, to the extent of matter within its jurisdiction, to any committee or subcommittee thereof if such records contain information that is needed for the conduct of its business and that is not otherwise available; and
(3) the Presidential records of a former President shall be available to such former President or the former President’s designated representative.
National Archives Records Administration (NARA)
Press Statements in Response to Media Queries About Presidential Records - April 27, 2023 Statement
EXCERPTS:
The April 24, 2023, letter from Timothy Parlatore, John Rowley, James Trusty, and Lindsey Halligan to House Permanent Selection Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner incorrectly states that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) “declined to provide archival assistance to President Trump’s transition team.” In a February 10, 2023, letter to House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (which is available online), NARA General Counsel Gary M. Stern clarified a response that he had given during his January 31, 2023, interview with the Committee:
I stated at the interview that it was my recollection that NARA had not provided such assistance. Following the interview, I checked with my colleagues, and I was informed that, in fact, NARA did send staff members to the White House in the final weeks of the Trump Administration to assist with the move of the physical records (including artifacts), in coordination with the DOD team that NARA employed to transport the records from the White House complex to the National Archives.
It is my understanding that this support was logistical in nature and did not involve providing records management guidance. In addition, NARA staff provided on-site transition support to the National Security Council. (The transfer of the electronic records was done by a different process that did not necessitate NARA staff to be onsite.)
Mr. Stern’s letter also described how this assistance was similar to the assistance that NARA had provided to the White House during the three previous Presidential transitions.
The packing of boxes and transfer of records from the White House to NARA at the end of each Administration is always managed and controlled by White House and NSC officials. While NARA routinely provides assistance, the NARA staff work under the direction of the White House.
(g)(2) appears to be one of the strongest arguments Trump can make that he was not treated fairly, as NARA did not setup an office in his hometown, as they had done for previous Presidents, per my understanding. However the current public arguments that he and his team are making, that this law allowed to him or any President to unilaterally determine what was considered “Personal Records” that he could retain, do not seem to match the words of the law.
EXCERPT:
In a perfect world, anytime the president wanted to declassify something, they [ie. he or she] would:
(1) consult with senior officials from the agencies that originated the information, as well as those with an interest in the information (for instance, the State Department if the information had diplomatic repercussions) and
(2) document the decision in writing so that agencies could properly implement it, including by downgrading and properly marking documents that contained the declassified information. But even then, the president should be free to declassify information by whatever means they [ie. he or she] choose.
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Follow through:
The President appointing a staff to manage departure from the Office of the President and from the White House. That includes, said staff:
a) being on top of arrangements with General Services Administration {"GSA") and National Archives and Records Administration ("NARA"), and
b) having the latest knowledge re what to expect regarding official procedures, and
c) having the know-how, and
d) establishing your own procedures
to follow through. Including, given that Executive powers a privileges end, being sure that what the President declassifed while having Executive powers and privileges, is recorded and marked.
Because the former President will be dealing with bureaucrats whose mission is to be picky at the least, especially when the bureaucrats do not favor said former President. (That, not being news to the former President.)
Newly unsealed court filings on Monday in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case reveal emails exchanged between officials from:
regarding former President Donald Trump’s presidential records.
- the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA),
- the Biden White House, and
- the Department of Justice (DOJ)
The newly unsealed filings also disclosed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) referred to its investigation into President Trump’s presidential records under the code name “[Redacted] Plasmic Echo.”
A key exhibit included with a motion to compel filed in January was an FBI case file labeled “[Redacted] PLASMIC ECHO; Mishandling of Classified or National Defense Information.”
This document, recently released to the public, outlines the findings of the initial review of documents sent by NARA to the FBI on February 24, 2022. The review revealed 106 classified documents spread across 12 out of 15 boxes, totaling 767 pages.
Last year [2023], President Trump entered a not guilty plea to 40 counts concerning the alleged mishandling of classified documents. In January [2024], the defense submitted a motion to compel discovery, along with various sealed exhibits, which included emails containing names and identifying information of government officials.
The defense contends that the newly revealed emails, made public on Monday, show communication between NARA officials, the Biden administration, and the DOJ concerning President Trump’s records.
They claim this suggests coordination aimed at targeting the former president dating back to 2021.