#Trump admin’s challenge of #Watergate-era records #law alarms historians
Scholars warn that the #DOJ declaration that the #PresidentialRecordsAct is #unconstitutional could impact other admins.
#accountability #transparency #corruption #CriminalState #MafiaState #kleptocracy
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/03/white-house-records-olc-opinion-00859073
The #Trump admin’s abrupt declaration that the federal #law governing presidential records for the past 48 yrs is #unconstitutional is creating confusion about access to records of past presidencies, including documents that are on the verge of public release.
The memo from the #DOJ Office of Legal Counsel, which challenges the #PresidentialRecordsAct, is intended to give #Trump the legal leeway to #destroy White House #records from his current term.
It also gives him #legal backing to refuse to hand over any remaining records to the #NARA when he leaves office in 2029.
https://www.justice.gov/olc/media/1434131/dl
Archives personnel rely on the records #law daily to review, redact & make public the documents & digital records of every president since Ronald Reagan. Since Office of Legal Counsel opinions are typically treated as binding throughout the #ExecutiveBranch, the legal framework archivists have followed for decades is now in doubt.
…“If the #Trump Justice Department takes the position that the #OLC opinion applies retroactively, we might see #NARA being forced to declare that records of past administrations covered by the PRA should always have been considered ‘personal’ in nature, & that courts are without jurisdiction to entertain lawsuits…for access to those records,” said Jason R. Baron, fmr litigation director for the Archives.
#law #accountability #transparency #corruption #CriminalState #MafiaState #kleptocracy
That could block #public #access to more than 700 million White House emails, among countless other records, in Archives possession since the #law went into effect in 1978, Baron said.
…The impact of the #DOJ opinion could be felt quickly by #historians, #scholars & #journalists who regularly access presidential records & make requests for their release.
#Trump #PresidentialRecordsAct #accountability #transparency #corruption #CriminalState #MafiaState #kleptocracy
Nonilex