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DOJ Declares Presidential Records Act Unconstitutional for Trump
The lawsuit says the memo would let the White House control or destroy records that document official actions and limit public access, plaintiffs said.
- On Monday, the American Historical Association and American Oversight filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Justice Department's April 1 opinion declaring the Presidential Records Act unconstitutional, seeking to compel the administration to preserve and transfer records to the National Archives.
- Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser's April 1 opinion for the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel argued the 1978 statute "exceeds Congress's enumerated and implied powers," concluding the president "need not further comply" with recordkeeping mandates.
- Citing Supreme Court precedent from Nixon v. Administrator of General Services, plaintiffs contend the DOJ opinion fails to distinguish the current act from a materially identical law the Court upheld 50 years ago.
- White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson stated the administration remains "committed to preserving records," though the Office of Legal Counsel opinion allows officials to set voluntary policies potentially bypassing National Archives oversight.
- Legal experts warn the policy could block public access to hundreds of millions of records, including more than 700 million White House emails, as the administration asserts ownership over documents generated on taxpayer-funded time.
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Alarm as Trump's DOJ clears path for him to destroy the admin's files
President Donald Trump's Department of Justice just gave him the power to destroy his administration's records if courts don't intervene, according to a new analysis. David A. Graham, a staff writer at The Atlantic, wrote in a new newsletter article that an official memo from the DOJ's Office of…
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Leaning Left22Leaning Right4Center26Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Center
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center
50% Center
L 42%
C 50%
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