According to the text of a letter obtained by CBS News, the National Archives and Records Administration is asking representatives from the six most recent past presidential administrations to comb through their personal records again to look for any classified or other presidential records.
The request comes after classified documents were discovered at the homes of former Vice President Mike Pence, former President Donald Trump, and President Joe Biden. CNN was the first to report on NARA’s requests to former presidents and vice presidents.
The Presidential Records Act, which was passed during former President Jimmy Carter’s administration but did not take effect until the Reagan administration, outlines requirements for the preservation and turnover of all presidential records upon leaving office. The National Archives is in charge of storing and safeguarding those records. Letters were sent to Trump, Obama, W. Bush, Clinton, H.W. Bush, and Reagan administrations.
“Over the last year, several instances reported in the media of records containing classified information and subject to the Presidential Records Act (PRA) being identified outside of the physical custody of the National Archives and Records Administration have been identified,” the letters state. “… The obligation to comply with the PRA does not end with the end of an administration. As a result, we request that you conduct an assessment of any materials held outside of NARA that pertain to the Administration for which you serve as a designated representative under the PRA, in order to determine whether bodies of materials previously assumed to be personal in nature may inadvertently contain Presidential or Vice Presidential records subject to the PRA, whether classified or unclassified.”
The most recent disclosures of classified records came from Pence’s team, which revealed earlier this week that classified documents were discovered at his Indiana home and turned over to authorities. According to two people familiar with the discovery, the documents were found among boxes of briefing books and papers dealing with foreign trips. According to one source, Trump discouraged aides from preparing to leave, so “Pence’s aides didn’t begin packing until after the Capitol attack.”
This summer, the FBI executed a search warrant at Trump’s primary residence at Mar-a-Lago, yielding hundreds of classified documents. Following multiple requests to turn over documents, the National Archives requested intervention from the Justice Department.
Merrick Garland, the United States Attorney General, has appointed a special counsel to conduct an investigation.
When asked repeatedly by reporters whether the administration should reform its procedures for classified records, or whether all previous presidents should check their records for any classified documents, the Biden White House has remained tight-lipped.
“I would recommend that you contact the White House Counsel’s office. I’m simply not going to comment on any changes in procedure — procedure, how things should proceed, etc “White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre used an unhelpful phrase that White House journalists have grown accustomed to. “I would refer you to the office of the White House Counsel.”
According to a source familiar with the situation, on November 10, a senior official in the Justice Department’s National Security Division wrote a letter to Mr. Biden’s legal team requesting cooperation with the department’s investigation into the documents.
According to the source, the Justice Department official specifically requested that Mr. Biden’s legal team secure the materials from the Penn Biden Center and refrain from further reviewing or moving them. According to the source, the official also requested that the Biden team provide the Justice Department with formal permission to review the Penn Biden materials and provide a list of other known locations where relevant materials might be stored.
According to the source, the Biden team agreed to notify the Justice Department if they learned, or had reason to believe, that such records were in another location.
The Senate intelligence committee’s Democratic and Republican leaders told “Face the Nation” that they needed access to the documents discovered in Trump and Mr. Biden’s possession.
“It’s not our job to figure out who mishandled those. Our job is to ensure that there is no intelligence compromise “Mark Warner, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, stated. “And while the director of national intelligence was willing to brief us earlier, now that you’ve got the special counsel, the notion that we’ll be left in limbo and unable to do our jobs — that simply cannot stand.”
According to a source close to former President Obama, they turned over everything to NARA after Mr. Obama left office.
“All of our presidential records — classified and unclassified — were turned over to NARA upon leaving the White House,” said Freddy Ford, former President George W. Bush’s aide.
According to the office of former President Bill Clinton, “all of President Clinton’s classified materials were properly turned over to NARA in accordance with the Presidential Records Act.”
A Carter spokesperson stated that “no one at The Carter Center, in President Carter’s personal office, or the current director of the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum recalls any instance of classified documents being found at his home or office.”
In an unrelated press conference on Thursday, FBI Director Christopher Wray stated, “For many years, there have been numerous mishandling investigations. Unfortunately, this is a regular part of our counterintelligence division’s and program’s work.”
