Former President Donald Trump violated the Presidential Records Act in carting off 15 boxes of documents, some top secret, to his Florida residence. The boxes were returned, but it has emerged that Trump routinely dispatched crucial papers, even to go so far as to flush some down the toilet. The National Archives continues to search for other government documents and refused Trump advisers’ requests to declare that Trump had done nothing wrong. (The Washington Post, February 12, 2022, by Ashley Parker, Jacqueline Alemany, Josh Dawsey and Tom Hamburger with contributions from Matt Zapotosky and Alice Crites)
Lee White of the National Coalition for History fears that Trump will not be held accountable and the truth of his presidency known without the missing records. The Presidential Records Act lacks enforcement with no penalties for violating it. Still Trump could be held accountable under laws against destroying federal property in a federal building. (NBC News, February 13, 2022, by Jonathan Allen)