General Discussion

“As of this moment, the Administration believes that the President is legally free to destroy records of his official government conduct, or even spirit away the records for his own future personal use.”

That’s what two nonprofit groups told a federal court in Washington on Monday, in a legal complaint seeking a declaration that the Presidential Records Act is constitutional. The complaint was prompted by a bold new claim to the contrary by the Trump Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel.

The American Historical Association and American Oversight said in their complaint that they filed the lawsuit “to stop the unconstitutional actions of the government, ensure the President and his administration abide by the recordkeeping obligations required by federal law, and to preserve the historical record that belongs to the American people, before it is forever lost.”

American Oversight is one of the groups that is separately suing for the release of former special counsel Jack Smith’s report on his classified documents case against President Donald Trump. The DOJ dropped Trump’s federal criminal cases due to his 2024 election win, but a Trump-appointed judge has still sought to keep Smith’s report secret. ....

On top of seeking a court declaration that the act is constitutional, the groups also want a ruling that the National Archives and Records Administration must comply with the act and must make relevant records publicly available as the act requires. Also among the groups’ requests is that Trump be barred, after his current term is up, “from retaining, destroying, disposing, or otherwise handling Presidential records in a manner not in accordance with” the act, and to turn over all presidential records in his possession to NARA as required by the act.

The government will have an opportunity to respond in court.