House committee raises ‘concerns’ over Trump storage unit in letter to National Archives

The House Oversight and Reform Committee has sent a letter to the National Archives expressing “concerns” about the possibility of additional presidential materials remaining at a storage facility in Florida after at least two documents with classified markings were found at the unit in West Palm Beach last week. 

Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) addressed the letter to acting Archivist of the United States Debra Steidel Wall on Tuesday, saying that the National Archives must “assume responsibility for the custody, control, and preservation of, and access to” all presidential records. 

Maloney referenced a report from The Washington Post last week that Trump’s lawyers hired an outside team to conduct searches for other materials at Trump properties. They immediately turned over the documents to the FBI and searched several locations, the Post reported. 

The search reportedly was conducted after a U.S. district judge told Trump’s legal team to continue to search for documents after the Department of Justice (DOJ) expressed concerns that not all materials had been given back. 

The National Archives has said that it believes Trump still possesses at least some White House records that should have been turned over when his presidency ended. 

Maloney said that Trump failed to turn over presidential records and classified documents on multiple occasions after the National Archives made multiple requests, and Trump appears to have continued to hold on to government property after the FBI conducted its search of Mar-a-Lago in August and found more than 11,000 records. 

“I am deeply concerned by former President Trump’s flagrant disregard for the [Presidential Records Act],” she said, referring to the federal law that requires presidents to preserve their records to be obtained by the government after their presidencies. 

The National Archives confirmed to The Hill that it received the letter but declined to comment further. 

The Post reported that the storage facility where the outside group found the items contained a range of gifts, boxes, and suits and other pieces of clothing, and Trump aides would sometimes go to the facility to look for certain items. 

Maloney’s request comes after a federal judge declined the DOJ’s request to hold members of Trump’s legal team in contempt for failing to comply with a subpoena for the materials from May. The judge urged both sides to reach an agreement themselves.