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


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.
It was "like a jigsaw puzzle," analyst Solomon Lartey told Politico in 2018. Lartey reconstructed everything from invitations to letters from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). "I had a letter from Schumer — he tore it up," Lartey shared with Politico. "It was the craziest thing ever. He ripped papers into tiny pieces."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In a statement to the Post, the National Archives confirmed that it received "paper records that had been torn up by former President Trump." Many of the documents were first reassembled by White House records management officials before being sent to the National Archives, but they also received "a number of torn-up records that had not been reconstructed by the White House."
So far, about 700 pages of documents have been passed along to the Jan. 6 committee, the Post reports, and it's unclear which of those records had been torn up and restored.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Sharenting: does covering children's faces on social media protect them?
In The Spotlight Privacy trend has 'trickled down' from celebrity parents but it may not protect your kids
-
Syria's returning refugees
The Explainer Thousands of Syrian refugees are going back to their homeland but conditions there remain extremely challenging
-
Rustle up some fun at these Western hotels and dude ranches
The Week Recommends Six properties that are ready to rope you in
-
How would the Trump administration denaturalize immigrant citizens?
Today's Big Question Using civil courts lowers the burden of proof
-
'Trucking is a dangerous business'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Trump's strikes on Iran: a 'spectacular success'?
In Depth Military humiliations 'expose the brittleness' of Tehran's ageing regime, but risk reinforcing its commitment to its nuclear program
-
Will NATO countries meet their new spending goal?
today's big question The cost of keeping Trump happy