Some Donald Trump White House Documents Torn up by Ex-President, Then Taped Back Together, National Archives Says
(Photo : Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The National Archives and Records Administration said some of former President Donald Trump's White House documents that Trump tore up had been taped back together.
In a statement, the Archives confirmed Trump's practice of tearing up records, as cited by press reports in 2018, CBS News reported.
The Archives said that White House records management officials from the Trump administration recovered and taped together the shredded documents that were turned over to the agency at the end of Trump's presidency, "along with a number of torn-up records" that the White House had not reconstructed.
The House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack earlier asked for Trump's White House documents in connection with the probe.
The Archives turned over the required documents after the Supreme Court rejected Trump's request to block the release of documents to the committee.
According to a 2018 Politico report, Trump's unofficial "filing system" consisted of him ripping up papers and throwing them on the floor or trash.
The Presidential Records Act requires memos, letters, emails, and other documents to be kept and given to the National Archives at the end of every administration.
National Archives on Donald Trump's White House Documents
Los Angeles Times columnist Harry Litman tweeted that the former president has routinely violated the Presidential Records Act by tearing up records.
One official earlier told Politico that he had a letter from Sen. Chuck Schumer, and Donald Trump tore it up, describing the incident as "the craziest thing ever."
CNN Congressional correspondent Ryan Nobles tweeted that "the thousands of pages of documents" from the Archive were still in the process of being taken by the committee.
Robles noted that there's "so much content," with select committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson saying that the Archives had to add 20 people to their staff.
According to People, the reconstructed documents were among the more than 700 pages already turned over to the January 6 committee late last month after Trump lost the court battle. Included in the documents turned over to the committee was a draft executive order, which several news outlets published.
The December 16, 2020 draft order given to Trump would have directed the Defense Department to seize voting machines during the 2020 presidential election. It was never issued, and it's unclear who authored the draft order.
The select committee, National Archives staff, and Trump's camp had yet to comment on the matter. But some netizens redirected the issue and questioned the contents of Hilary Clinton's emails and Hunter Biden's laptop, such as the case with one Twitter user with a handle @Ziggy_Daddy.
Others were questioning when Trump would be arrested for his crimes.
The congressional reporter for The Guardian U.S., Hugo Lowell, tweeted that federal prosecutors are also reviewing the fake Electoral College certifications sent to the Archives, declaring Donald Trump the winner of states he lost.
The January 6 Capitol Attack Select Committee
Donald Trump has unsuccessfully argued in a lawsuit in lower federal courts that he was entitled to block the documents released under executive privilege, which in some instances allows a president to stop Congress from obtaining executive branch records.
However, according to CNBC, President Joe Biden has refused to invoke executive privilege over the documents that the select committee asked.
The move eventually led to the select committee getting hold of the documents. The January 6 Capitol riot by hundreds of Donald Trump supporters started after he falsely claimed that he had won the 2020 presidential election.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: Trump Records Were Ripped Up, Taped Together - From The View