WASHINGTON — House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., has asked the National Archives and Records Administration to confirm whether former President Donald Trump still possesses any records he took from the White House after more than 100 classified documents were found at his Mar-a-Lago property.
In a letter Tuesday to acting Archivist of the United States Debra Steidel Wall, Maloney said she is concerned that “sensitive presidential records may remain out of the control and custody” of the federal government because of “revelations that Mr. Trump’s representatives misled investigators about his continued possession of government property and that material found at his club included dozens of ’empty folders’ for classified material.”
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“In light of the serious risk that Mr. Trump may still be retaining sensitive government records at Mar-a-Lago or his other properties, I urge NARA to seek a personal certification from Donald Trump that he has surrendered all presidential records that he illegally removed from the White House after leaving office,” Maloney wrote.
She said she wants the written certification from Trump to confirm that he has also not made any copies or reproductions of presidential records and hasn’t transferred any records or government documents to anyone besides the Archives or the Department of Justice.
The committee chairwoman also asked that the Archives “conduct an urgent review” of records recovered from Trump’s White House to determine “whether presidential records remain unaccounted for and potentially in the possession of the former president.”
NBC News has reached out to a Trump spokesperson for comment.
John Bolton, Trump’s former White House national security adviser, has expressed concern that Trump “might have transferred classified documents to other clubs, such as Bedminster National Golf Club, where he recently hosted a professional golf tournament sponsored and attended by numerous foreign officials,” the letter noted.
Maloney said that National Archives staff recently informed the Oversight panel that the agency isn’t sure whether all presidential records are in its custody.
The Justice Department indicated in a legal filing last week that it was unsure whether Trump returned all White House documents to the federal government.
Ali Vitali contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
