Trump mischaracterized White House documents he kept after leaving office as “personal,” the Justice Department argued in a newly unsealed court filing. The DOJ accused Trump of engaging in a “shell game” to shield documents from criminal investigators.
Cannon’s appointment of the special master slowed DOJ’s pursuit of a potential criminal case against Trump for retaining highly sensitive national security documents at Mar-a-Lago after he left office. Dearie is slated to decide next month whether to recommend that prosecutors be permitted to access the documents, though Cannon has the ultimate decision. Prosecutors say their evidence suggests Trump or his associates also attempted to obstruct DOJ’s efforts to retrieve the records.
Trump “appears to be claiming that he can unilaterally ‘deem’ otherwise Presidential records to be personal records by fiat,” Bratt wrote. “Such a reading of the PRA would nullify the statute’s entire purpose by allowing a President to designate all of his official records as ‘personal’ records and then to remove them upon departure from the White House. … It would reduce the PRA’s detailed definitions of ‘Presidential records’ and ‘personal records’ to mere suggestions.
In her ruling, Jackson rejected Judicial Watch’s effort to obtain tapes of President Bill Clinton’s interviews with a journalist that the former president had retained in a sock drawer in the White House residence. The judge ruled Clinton’s decision to keep the tapes rendered them “personal” and the National Archives did not challenge that designation.
DOJ says the 2012 opinion from Jackson is inapplicable to the current dispute, in which the National Archives challenged Trump’s designation of the records as “personal.” The Presidential Records Act permits the Archives to take steps to recover documents it deems government property.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Donald Trump at 'his most dangerous' as GOP turns on him: Mary Trump'We don't know just what kind of information he has on other people in his party,' his niece told MSNBC. 'What we do know is he would be willing to use it.'
Read more »
Analysis | In election 2022, the party of Trump pays for being the party of TrumpRepublicans went into the week looking to take control of the U.S. House and possibly the Senate. Instead, they are left more with questions than favorable results.
Read more »
Ivanka Trump strangely crops Kimberly Guilfoyle out of Tiffany Trump wedding photoWhat message was matron of honor Ivanka Trump trying to send by removing Donald Trump Jr’s fiancée from a photo that she shared on social media from her little sister’s wedding?
Read more »
Mary Trump labels midterms 'blue tsunami' as Donald Trump picks struggle'Given historical precedent, conventional wisdom, and the framing used over the last few months, I think it's fair to call this a blue tsunami,' she said.
Read more »