Donald Trump’s fight to claim personal ownership of his presidential records is about more than history — it is, legal experts warn, an effort to build a permanent legal shield against any future investigation that might seek access to documents from his time in office.
A Justice Department opinion quietly released in April declared the Presidential Records Act of 1978 unconstitutional, arguing that the law — enacted after Watergate specifically to prevent presidents from controlling or destroying evidence of their official conduct — limits the “constitutional independence and autonomy” of the executive branch. The opinion, written by a Trump loyalist in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, would give Trump sole control over which records survive and which are made public.
Jason R. Baron, a former director of litigation at the National Archives, told the New York Times the implications extend well beyond what ends up in a library exhibit. If Trump prevails, Baron said, he could try to block any future investigation involving subpoenas of his records by asserting personal property rights. “There is no guarantee that those records will ever be made accessible to the public,” Baron warned.
A federal judge has already pushed back. Judge John D. Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected Trump’s position in a May ruling that opened by quoting George Orwell’s “1984”: “Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.” The White House said it would appeal.
The fight has deep roots in Trump’s first term, when the National Archives’ demand for records he took to Mar-a-Lago led to his federal indictment on classified documents charges. After winning the 2024 election, Trump regained control of the seized materials and moved quickly to dismantle the agency that came after him. He fired the nation’s chief archivist and installed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to lead the National Archives, who then delegated control to a 33-year-old former executive of the Nixon Foundation.
The Presidential Records Act was passed in 1978 in direct response to Richard Nixon’s attempt to keep the Watergate tapes. Nearly five decades later, Trump is trying to finish what Nixon started, the reporting suggests.
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