January 26, US National Archives (NARA) has formally asked former presidents and vice presidents to check where their personal belongings are kept to see if any classified files or documents are missing. The White House or not.
According to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Washington, NARA made the request after classified documents were discovered at the homes of former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence and current President Joe Biden over the past year.
In a letter to representatives of former presidents and vice presidents from the six most recent federal governments, NARA asked them to comply with the Presidential Records Act (PRA), enacted in 1978.
Former leaders must check where personal items are stored to ensure that the documents do not “accidentally” contain White House files, which are required by law to be turned over to NARA.
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The letter read: “The responsibility to comply with the PRA does not diminish with the end of an administration. Therefore, we ask that you conduct an assessment of any material held outside of NARA’s control to determine if documents previously believed to have belonged to an individual may inadvertently contain records to which the president or vice president must comply, whether marked confidential or not.”
In the letter, NARA notes that “although much of the attention of these cases has been focused on classified information, the PRA requires that all records of all administrations from the time of President Ronald Reagan onwards be forwarded to NARA, no matter the level of security.”
Former presidents who received the letter include Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George HW Bush and Ronald Reagan, among others. vice president are Mike Pence, Joe Biden, Dick Cheney, Al Gore and Dan Quayle.
Representatives for former Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama and late President George HW Bush told CNN that all classified documents were turned over to NARA when their clients left office.
Private former president Jimmy Carter, 99, did not receive a letter from NARA because he is technically exempt from PRA law. Despite being the signatory of the PRA, this law only takes effect after the 39th President of the United States leaves office.
Doan Hung (VNA/Vietnam+)