Faced with a steady stream of revelations about improperly kept classified documents, the National Archives on Thursday asked former presidents and vice presidents to search their possessions for any sensitive and potentially top-secret material, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Many of those former top White House officials have already stated that they do not have any classified documents in their possession, following reports that President Joe Biden had such documents in his personal possession during his time as Vice President in Barack Obama’s administration. Former President Donald Trump and, more recently, his vice president, Mike Pence, have also been found in possession of such documents, despite federal statutes requiring that they be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration for safekeeping and eventual disclosure to the American public.
What does the letter from the National Archives ask for?
The archives asks all former presidents and vice presidents dating back to the Ronald Reagan administration to re-examine their files in its letter.
Other recipients of the National Archives request, in addition to Obama, Biden, Trump, and Pence, include former presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Reagan – as well as former vice presidents Dick Cheney, Al Gore, and Dan Quayle.
‘Those rules… are there for a reason,’ says FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Also Thursday, FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed that the federal law enforcement agency has “had for quite a number of years any number of mishandling investigations. Unfortunately, that is a regular part of our counterintelligence division’s and program’s work.”
Wray said Thursday at an unrelated news conference that he couldn’t discuss any specific ongoing investigation, but that the FBI had discovered a need for people to be aware of laws and rules governing the handling of classified information.
Documents pertaining to Trump, Pence, and Biden
However, the controversy has heightened in the last year as Trump has refused to turn over classified documents in his possession to the National Archives.
In some cases, Trump has claimed that he declassified all of them ahead of his departure from the White House on January 20, 2021, while in others, he has claimed that they are part of his private presidential papers. According to the Presidential Records Act, all papers generated during a president’s – and vice president’s – official duties should be turned over to the archives, including notepads containing doodles and other personal observations made by those officials.
The National Archives is looking for any material, including documents that could jeopardise national security.
The outreach follows revelations that Trump, Biden, and Pence had access to classified documents.
The controversy is part of a decades-long issue with classified information safeguarding in the United States.
Faced with a steady stream of revelations about improperly kept classified documents, the National Archives on Thursday asked former presidents and vice presidents to search their possessions for any sensitive and potentially top-secret material, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Many of those former top White House officials have already stated that they do not have any classified documents in their possession, following reports that President Joe Biden had such documents in his personal possession during his time as Vice President in Barack Obama’s administration. Former President Donald Trump and, more recently, his vice president, Mike Pence, have also been found in possession of such documents, despite federal statutes requiring that they be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration for safekeeping and eventual disclosure to the American public.
A representative from one of the recipient offices confirmed the letter to USA TODAY but declined to comment further.
Do other presidents have classified documents?:Aside from Trump, Biden, and Pence, are there any other former presidents who have classified documents? We inquired.
On March 11, 2019, the north face of the United States Archives in Washington, DC.
What does the letter from the National Archives ask for?
The archives asks all former presidents and vice presidents dating back to the Ronald Reagan administration to re-examine their files in its letter.
Other recipients of the National Archives request, in addition to Obama, Biden, Trump, and Pence, include former presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Reagan – as well as former vice presidents Dick Cheney, Al Gore, and Dan Quayle.
Former President Jimmy Carter would not have received such a letter because, while he signed the Presidential Records Act of 1978 into law, it did not take effect until the Reagan administration began on January 20, 1981.
On Wednesday, a number of former White House officials, including Obama, George H.W. Bush, Gore, and Quayle, issued statements claiming that they had met all of the requirements of the Presidential Records Act and had no classified material in their possession.
