On Friday, CNN reported that the National Archives directly threatened to go to Congress and the Justice Department to get former President Donald Trump to turn over documents he was withholding as he left the White House.
"Longtime Archives lawyer Gary Stern first reached out to a person from the White House counsel's office who had been designated as the President Records Act point of contact about the record-keeping issue, hoping to locate the missing items and initiate their swift transfer back to NARA, said multiple sources familiar with the matter," reported Gabby Orr, Pamela Brown, and Paula Reid. "The person had served as one of Trump's impeachment defense attorneys months earlier and, as deputy counsel, was among the White House officials typically involved in ensuring records were properly preserved during the transfer of power and Trump's departure from office."
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"But after an extended back and forth over several months and after multiple steps taken by Trump's team to resolve the issue, Stern sought the intervention of another Trump attorney last fall as his frustration mounted over the pace of the document turnover," continued the report. "A spokesperson for Trump did not return a request for comment."
Previous reports indicate that Trump did not make efforts to properly maintain records, disposing of various documents and even flushing some down the toilet. In addition to taking items like his letters from Kim Jong Un and Barack Obama and an infamous map of Hurricane Dorian doctored with a Sharpie, he also removed several documents clearly marked "Top Secret."
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