- Several historians are expressing concern over the collection of Trump’s White House records because of the government’s poor record in document preservation.
- The president also has a tendency to rip documents before throwing them away, forcing aides to spend hours pasting the documents again.
- The transfer of documents to the National Archives and Records – which by law is due to close on January 20 – has already been delayed because of Trump’s long-standing refusal to grant.
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Historians are increasingly concerned about collecting Trump’s White House records because of the government’s inconsistency with document preservation and the president’s long-standing habit of shredding papers, the Associated Press (AP) reported on Saturday.
With three days remaining in office, Trump is expected to deliver documents from his administration, as is customary for any outgoing president.
However, according to several reports, this process will become increasingly difficult because the Trump White House has a notoriously poor record of document preservation.
Richard Immerman, of the Society of American Foreign Historians, told the AP that “not only is record keeping a priority, but we have several examples of this seeking to hide or destroy those records.”
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The president himself is also known for tearing up documents before throwing them in the trash or on the floor – a habit first reported by Politico in 2018.
Trump’s excess of torn paper forced aides to spend hours taping the documents together before sending them to the National Archives to be properly filed.
White House registry workers and historians now fear they will have to do the same, with a person telling the Fortune news site that they are “petrified” by the task they face.
“This administration’s inattention to legal requirements [about preserving records] is unprecedented. I’m pessimistic that we will get a lot of documents, “said Richard Immerman, a professor at Temple University and author of several presidential biographies, according to Fortune.
In addition, the transfer of documents to the National Archives and Archives – which by law should be completed on January 20 – has already been postponed.
That’s because, after the 2020 election, Trump refused to budge for several weeks, which prevented registry officials from transferring electronic and paper records to the National Archives in time.
The boxes are stacked on West Executive Avenue before being loaded onto a truck at the White House on January 14.
Mandel Ngan / AFP
According to the Presidential Records Act, the White House resident administration must preserve all memos, letters, emails and papers that the president touches.
The law states that the president himself cannot destroy these records until he seeks advice from the national archivist and notifies Congress.
Last month, several groups of historians sued the White House for fears that the Trump administration will improperly keep records.
“I believe we will find that there will be a huge hole in this president’s historical record because I think there was probably a serious breach of the Presidential Records Act,” said Anne Weismann, one of the lawyers representing the groups, according to AP.
“I don’t think President Trump cares about his background and what he says. I think he probably cares, however, about what that might say about his criminal guilt,” added Weismann.
The Biden administration may request to see Trump’s records. However, the public must wait five years before they can access them through requests for freedom of information.
Collecting the president’s paper and electronic records is important because it can help the new president create new policies and prevent mistakes from recurring.
“Presidential records tell the story of our nation from a unique perspective and are essential for a new government to make informed decisions,” Lee White, director of the National Coalition for History, told the AP. “They are just as vital to historians.”
When former President Barack Obama left the White House, he left about 30 million pages of paper documents and about 250 terabytes of electronic records, including the equivalent of about 1.5 billion pages of email, informed the AP.