The National Archives requested the Justice Department to investigate former President Donald Trump’s handling of White House documents, according to the Washington Post.
The National Archives placed the request after it retrieved 15 boxes of documents from his home in Mar-a-Lago. Carrying documents, and not handing them over, while vacating the office goes against the Presidential Records Act.
The Act requires the POTUS to turn over all the records—classified or otherwise—at the end of his/her administration, while vacating the Oval Office, to the National Archives.
The revelation came soon after the Justice Department rejected Trump’s legal team's attempt to block the House select committee from subpoenaing 800 pages of Trump Administration files.
According to the Washington Post, the agency’s management staff had to tape together several records that were returned after Archives General Counsel Gary Stern’s inquiry. In a CNN interview, the National Archives denied explaining why they believed that Trump himself tore the records ahead of a formal investigation.
The Justice Department refused to comment on the request publicly. The agency reportedly further added that an investigation would help in retrieving more classified records in Trump’s possession.
