National Archives says it received Trump White House documents that had to be taped together

Donald Trump stands in the Oval Office.
(Image credit: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Several documents from the Trump White House turned over to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack were ripped up and had to be taped back together, three people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.

Under the Presidential Records Act, the White House must send all written communication related to the president's duties — memos, letters, papers, emails — over to the National Archives. During his time in office, former President Donald Trump famously ripped documents up to shreds and tossed the paper fragments to the floor. Aides, not wanting Trump to run afoul of the law, quickly scooped the fragments up and sent them to the records management office, where analysts painstakingly put the pieces back together, with the help of lots of clear Scotch tape.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.