Improperly removed WH boxes retrieved at Mar-a-Lago: report

(The Hill) — The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) retrieved multiple White House record boxes last month that were improperly kept at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property, The Washington Post reported.

The boxes reportedly contained important records of communication, gifts and letters from world leaders, which, according to the Post, is a violation of the Presidential Records Act.

The newspaper added that the boxes retrieved from the Florida estate included correspondence with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as well as a letter from former President Barack Obama to Trump.

The Post noted that recent administrations have all had some Presidential Records Act violations, including the use of unofficial email and telephone accounts as well as the destruction of emails.

But a source told the newspaper that the transfer to Mar-a-Lago was “out of the ordinary… NARA has never had that kind of volume transfer after the fact like this.”

The Hill has reached out to the National Archives and Trump’s office for comment. 

The Presidential Records Act, which was put in place following the Watergate scandal, requires administrations to document and maintain records of the White House decision-making process.

The new development comes just a week after the National Archives and Records Administration handed over some Trump White House documents to the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection that were reportedly torn up and taped back together. 

The National Archives said last week that documents “included paper records that had been torn up by former President Trump.”

The former president had sued to stop the committee from being given certain documents, with his attorney claiming it was illegal and that Trump wanted to preserve privileges over certain documents.