House panel launches probe into boxes of Trump presidential records

The House Oversight and Reform Committee announced on Thursday that it is launching a probe regarding the boxes of former President Trump’s records that had been recovered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.

In a letter to David S. Ferriero, archivist to the United States, committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said she was “deeply concerned that these records were not provided to NARA promptly at the end of the Trump Administration and that they appear to have been removed from the White House in violation of the Presidential Records Act (PRA).”

She said she was also concerned about recent reports that suggested “President Trump repeatedly attempted to destroy presidential records, which could constitute additional serious violations of the PRA.”

Maloney asked Ferriero to provide answers to a list of questions she had regarding the recovered presidential records, including if they knew about any other records that were missing from the Trump White House and a description of the types of records they had retrieved from Mar-a-Lago.

The announcement of the investigation came several days after a report by The Washington Post that said that 15 boxes had been retrieved by the National Archives, potentially in violation of the Presidential Records Act because they reportedly included important documents such as gifts, letters and communication records from world leaders.

The development also follows a separate report by the Post from last month that found that presidential records that had been turned over by the National Archives to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol were reportedly ripped apart and taped back together.

The National Archives has reportedly asked the Justice Department to investigate Trump’s handling of documents during his time in the White House.

Earlier on Thursday, Trump said in a statement issued through his Save America PAC that he had returned papers to the National Archives without issue.

“The papers were given easily and without conflict and on a very friendly basis, which is different from the accounts being drawn up by the Fake News Media. In fact, it was viewed as routine and ‘no big deal,’” he said.

Trump also slammed reporting that said that documents were flushed down the toilet during his time in office.

“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,” he said.

The Hill has reached out to the National Archives for comment.

The investigation comes as NARA has been asked to turn over reams of Trump’s documents to the Jan. 6 committee, which in August asked for the records of nearly every top White House aide along with those of several Trump family members.

Trump has sought to block the committee from accessing his records by claiming they are protected by executive privilege, an argument rejected by multiple courts.

Rebecca Beitsch contributed.

Updated at 9:40 a.m.