Ethics group sues National Archives over discovery of classified documents
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EXCLUSIVE – ‘Yet another reason trust in government continues to plummet’: Ethics group sues National Archives for not sharing White House communications after discovery of classified files on Biden properties, trump and pence
- Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) has sued the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
- The group requested the archivist’s communications with the White House last year.
- Files accused of not following their own rules by not turning over records
An ethics watchdog is suing the National Archives for withholding records, just days after requiring presidents and vice presidents to hand over their records for classified materials.
Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) has filed a ‘transparency lawsuit’ against the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) after asking acting archivist Debra Steidel Wall for documents and any of her communications with the White House last August.
They have yet to receive a response and have accused the Archives of double standards for demanding records from the last six administrations without sharing their own.
An ethics watchdog is suing the National Archives for withholding records, just days after requiring presidents and vice presidents to hand over their records for classified materials.
These documents could shed light on discussions between NARA and the White House during a politically tense period that led to the unprecedented raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence to obtain presidential records and the discovery of classified material in many places. associated with President Joe Biden,’ PPT said in reference to the lawsuit from him.
“Apparently, it’s too much to ask that the agency that requests everyone else to turn over their records follows their own rules when searching for their documents,” said Michael Chamberlain, director of Protect the Public’s Trust. ‘
“At a time when the public could use some clarity and transparency in highly charged episodes, this seems normal for an administration that bills itself as the most transparent in history.
“Yet another reason why the American public’s confidence in their government continues to plummet.”
PPT’s actions were prompted by the large number of classified documents found on the properties of President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and Vice President Mike Pence.
During a 13-hour search of Biden’s Wilmington home, the FBI found confidential materials dating to his time as a senator in the 1970s.
The FBI is set to search Pence’s home in Carmel, Indiana, in the coming days after his lawyers found classified documents.
The White House has been heavily criticized for waiting two months to publicly acknowledge that classified documents were found at the Penn Biden Center think tank in Washington DC.
Last week, House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman James Comer claimed the National Archives was unable to make a statement when the first Biden documents were discovered in November.
He claimed that only two entities, the White House or the Justice Department, could have prevented the release, raising further questions about communications between the government and the archives.
“So, it shows right there that this Department of Justice and this White House are interfering with this,” he added.
It came after Comer’s panel conducted a lengthy interview with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) General Counsel Gary Stern.
Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) has filed a “transparency lawsuit” over documents they say will shed light on the “unprecedented” raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property last summer.