I'm getting terribly confused here..... Just what is the National Archives?
See here at this link: What is the National Archives and Records Administration?
Does everyone that works there have the highest possible clearances?
No, most NARA employees are low-level staffers without clearances. Only the senior most archivists and classified records specialists have clearances. And to do research in classified records, you have to jump through a bunch of hoops first, including establishing a "need to know" and getting written permission from the originating agency (usually via FOIA or subpoena) before they let you have access to your targeted documents in the classified research room.
Do they do the same thing for the FBI CIA DOJ and all the other alphabet agencies?
Yes, they process and archives records for all agencies. But it's up to the agencies themselves to retire their old records, which are usually held in the various federal records centers (warehouses), like the one in Suitland, Maryland. When records are retired, they are transmitted to NARA along with Standard Forms-135 for processing, which involves an archivist or archivists going through them and deciding what is relevant and worthy of keeping, and disposing of the rest. Only about 5% of the paper generated by the government is actually preserved.
Do they store all the highly classified material forever...and who oversees them? Congress?
Sometimes forever but not always. Most records have a disposal schedule...some are kept for 5 years or 10 years, and then burned or shredded. Others are kept permanently. And NARA is an independent agency supervised by the General Services Administration, and not Congress, even though Congress controls its budget.
I have many more questions about how it does or was designed to operate but this a start if any FReeper understands it....
You can get more info about its organization here:
Thanks in advance
You're welcome!
Does this mean the biden stolen papers are past the date to shred or burn?
There are now many permanent Preservation Orders for docs at the Fed. Record Center at Suitland, Mr. and all Archives for tens or hundreds of thousand of Ww2 Etc. records needed for both historical and litigation purposes thanks to a great Army lawyer, three great DOJ attorneys/legal administrators and my humble self, aided by a few competent professional researchers.
One day the whole story might be told.