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Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(135,776 posts)
Thu Apr 2, 2026, 08:11 PM 12 hrs ago

DOJ tells Trump he doesn't have to follow law requiring him to turn over all presidential records

Source: Independent

President Donald Trump does not have to turn over all his presidential records to the government after leaving office, the Department of Justice has concluded, after finding a landmark transparency law to be unconstitutional.

"Congress does not have the power to compel an entire branch of government to create and save every single possible piece of paper," a White House official told Axios.

The stance could set up a major documents fight when Trump leaves office, a flashback to the Mar-a-Lago files case that followed his first term.

In an opinion posted on Wednesday, the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel, which advises the White House, wrote that the Presidential Records Act of 1978 “exceeds Congress’s enumerated and implied powers, and it aggrandizes the Legislative Branch at the expense of the constitutional independence and autonomy” of the president.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/doj-tells-trump-doesn-t-183126807.html



The DOJ does not define Constitutionality. The courts do.
5 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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DOJ tells Trump he doesn't have to follow law requiring him to turn over all presidential records (Original Post) Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin 12 hrs ago OP
Just when you think they can't get any weirder... mdbl 12 hrs ago #1
Well they certainly can't take documents with them. C_U_L8R 12 hrs ago #2
Is this Opinion of the Attorney General printed in ALL CAPS? Marcuse 11 hrs ago #3
It's encouraging that they're talking about what happens when he leaves ... FakeNoose 10 hrs ago #4
Office Of Legal Counsel (OLC) DallasNE 8 hrs ago #5

C_U_L8R

(49,392 posts)
2. Well they certainly can't take documents with them.
Thu Apr 2, 2026, 08:36 PM
12 hrs ago

They belong to the people, not the administrators.

Marcuse

(9,015 posts)
3. Is this Opinion of the Attorney General printed in ALL CAPS?
Thu Apr 2, 2026, 09:32 PM
11 hrs ago

This must be challenged before evidence is deleted, shredded, burned or sold.

FakeNoose

(41,666 posts)
4. It's encouraging that they're talking about what happens when he leaves ...
Thu Apr 2, 2026, 10:10 PM
10 hrs ago

At least SOMEBODY is talking about it. Yes he is going to leave .... This will all be over some day....

DallasNE

(8,009 posts)
5. Office Of Legal Counsel (OLC)
Fri Apr 3, 2026, 12:06 AM
8 hrs ago

The OLC opines on the constitutionality of pending legislation and Executive Orders. The President almost always follows the OLC opinion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Legal_Counsel

It would be interesting to read some of those opinions on the blizzard of Executive Orders Trump has signed, such as those related to tariffs and birthright citizenship. Is OLB actually providing legal sanction for those orders, or is Trump breaking tradition and disregarding the OLC's legal advice?

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