White House records include information about Obama, Kim Jong Un and Trump's ripped files

White House records include information about Obama

Kim Jong Un and Trump's ripped files

On Monday, the National Archives and Materials Department made a small fraction of contacts related to records allegedly destroyed by former President Donald Trump and documents removed from government possession.

Letters from Kim Jong Un, North Korean leader

and former President Barack Obama were sent to Trump as part of contacts related to NARA's efforts to recover those records.

 In addition, they conveyed the agency's concern about Trump's rumored tendency to tear up documents as they read at the White House.

• Correspondence between NARA

• and the House Committee on Oversight

• and Reform was among the additional communications announced on Monday. 

Earlier this year, the commission requested information from David Ferreiro, the country's archivist, about 15 boxes of presidential papers recently retrieved from the ownership of the Donald Trump Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.

As a result of requests submitted pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act

letters were provided.

1. The majority of contacts, including letters to Trump's lawyers
2. the Justice Department
3. Congress and the White House

• have been withheld, according to NARA

• because they are excluded from disclosing

• the Freedom of Information Act.

Removing federal records when Trump leaves office is the subject of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department.

Early in August

the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago as a result of this investigation.

 Customers have seized thousands of government documents

some of which are top secret.

The raid occurred after the Justice Department suspected that Trump kept more official records than were in the 15 boxes made available to NARA.

On Monday

NARA revealed 11 pages with 298 pages of discussions between the organization and Trump representatives kept confidential.

In addition

• it published only 54 pages of correspondence between NARA

• and "outside organizations other than Trump representatives"

•  as described by the agency.

1,249 pages of correspondence in that category were blocked by NARA.

Nara will continue to review additional information that is responsive in the coming months to the prospect of release, the agency said in a statement.

We cannot comment further on today's issue due to pending litigation.

NARA General Counsel Gary Stern informed Donald Trump's lawyer in an email from May 2021 posted Monday about ongoing efforts to collect presidential data on social media accounts, but added:We are unable to account for certain paper or text data as well.

In order to guarantee that NARA obtains all presidential documents as required by the Presidential Records Act, Stern wrote, "hence, we need your quick cooperation."

For example, Stern wrote: 

• The original correspondence between President Trump

• and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has not been conveyed to us

• We understand that in January 2021

• right before the administration's time is up

The President's file now has the originals.

but never transferred to the Records Management Office for transfer to NARA. "

• The statement states

• These original records must be delivered to NARA as soon as practicable."

• Stern continued that the message Obama left for Trump

• in the Oval Office when his administration ended was "not conveyed."

Stern noted that it was a "presidential record"

1. and should therefore be maintained
2. by the National Association
3. for Nuclear Weapons Research.

In addition, Stern noted that NARA was aware of this

"despite [White House Counsel] Pat Cipollone's decision in the last days of the administration that they needed to." 

About 20 boxes of original presidential records were kept at the White House residence during Trump's final year in office but have not yet been sent to NARA.

Another document was published on Monday

a letter from Stern to White House Deputy Counsel Stefan Passantino in June 2018. 

In the letter, Stern noted that Politico had written an article a few days earlier about two former White House employees who were responsible for repackaging the documents after President Trump "tore them apart."

As such records would be required to be kept under the Presidential Records Act, Stern said, "I am writing to get information on how the White House will manage this matter.

"How many records do you tear?

 Were any records destroyed or were in an irrecoverable condition, "Stern asked. What actions have been made to restore any damaged records?

There is no response to Stern's speech in records published by Nara on Monday.