The National Archives has asked all former presidents and former vice presidents to check their residences and offices to see if they have classified government documents in their possession, two sources with knowledge of the matter said Thursday.
This request is known after the discovery of secret classified documents in the possession of the president, Joe Biden;
former President Donald Trump;
and his former vice president, Mike Pence.
The National Archives sent letters Thursday to representatives of former presidents and former vice presidents who have served since the Ronald Reagan administration to ensure compliance with the Presidential Records Act.
The law establishes that all documents created or received by the president are the property of the government and will be administered by the National Archives at the end of his term, according to the two sources who spoke to the news agency on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to report. about.
[Trump accounts on Facebook and Instagram are reactivated]
A man walks past several boxes that were removed from a White House office, on January 14, 2021, in Washington, DCGerald Herbert / AP
The National Archives sent the letter to representatives of former Presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan, and former Vice Presidents Mike Pence, Dick Cheney, Al Gore, and Dan Quayle.
The letter was first reported by CNN.
The handling of classified documents has been an on-and-off problem for decades, but has grown in importance since Trump deliberately withheld classified material at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida mansion, prompting an unprecedented FBI raid that seized thousands of archive pages last year.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special investigator to look into how Trump and Biden handled classified documents.
Biden evades the press again after the discovery of new classified documents
Jan 24, 202302:15
Speaking at an unrelated news conference Thursday, FBI Director Christopher Wray said that, while he couldn't discuss any specific ongoing investigations, “we've had for quite a few years a lot of mishandling investigations.
Unfortunately, that's a recurring part of the job of our counterintelligence division and counterintelligence program."
He added that it was necessary for people to be aware of the laws and regulations that govern the handling of classified information.
“Those rules are there for a reason,” he added.
