Trump Tore Office Papers, Flushed Them Down Toilet. National Archives Demands Probe: Report

The 1978 Presidential Records Act which was passed following the Watergate scandal mandates all the US presidents to transfer all emails, letters and other work documents to the National Archives. 

Former US President Donald Trump | Photo: AFP

New Delhi: The National Archives, which has the responsibility of preserving US presidential records, wants a probe to be conducted against former US President Donald Trump who had a habit of tearing up White House documents while he was in office. 

A report by Washington Post stated that National Archives requested the Justice Department to open a probe on the practices by Trump. The report further stated that Trump would rip up the documents, stuff them down the toilet, or would cart them off to Florida.   

This came to light after the government's records office on Monday confirmed that 15 boxes of documents were recovered by them from Trump’s Florida estate, which he took with them after leaving Washington following his defeat. 

Among the documents recovered from his Florida estate were official correspondence with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un which Trump would describe as “love letters” at that time.

A letter by outgoing president Barack Obama which he left for Trump after leaving the Oval Office was also found in the Florida stash. 

Denying any such claims, Trump termed it as “fake news” and said, “The media's characterisation of my relationship with NARA (National Archives) is Fake News. It was exactly the opposite! It was a great honour to work with NARA to help formally preserve the Trump Legacy."

The 1978 Presidential Records Act which was passed following the Watergate scandal mandates all the US presidents to transfer all emails, letters, and other work documents to the National Archives. 

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New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman in her upcoming book ‘Confidence Man’ wrote, "staff in the White House residence periodically discovered wads of printed paper clogging a toilet -- and believed the president had flushed pieces of paper," reports AFP. 

Trump denied this too and said, "Also, another fake story, that I flushed papers and documents down a White House toilet, is categorically untrue and simply made up by a reporter in order to get publicity for a mostly fictitious book."