Is the Jan. 6 investigation 'the most difficult challenge' to ever face the National Archives?
The otherwise under-the-radar National Archives and Records Administration has been thrust into the spotlight as of late, amid the ongoing investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, as well as a newfound scandal involving mishandled White House records and former President Donald Trump, writes The Hill.
So how is the agency faring under both its newfound notoriety as well as the influx of high-profile work?
"I think it's the most difficult challenge the National Archives has ever had," John Carlin, who worked as the eighth archivist of the United States, told The Hill. "In terms of what potentially could have gone wrong, what could potentially have really damaged the Archives and their image with the public as well as Washington, D.C."
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.
Carlin, who actually led efforts to preserve tapes from the Nixon White House during his Archives tenure, said he's been "pleasantly surprised by the Archives' ability to navigate the document requests from the Jan. 6 committee, pointing to the lack of public complaints from lawmakers as evidence the Archives staff have done a good job under difficult circumstances," The Hill writes.
At first, Carlin thought, "Oh gosh, they don't have the staff to do it," he said.
The Jan. 6 committee's "sweeping" initial request sought "documents, communications, calendars, schedules, movement logs, videos, photographs, visitor logs and telephone records related to Jan. 6 and efforts to challenge the 2020 election results," The Hill writes.
Committee Chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told reporters that NARA had "added about 20 employees to help with our committee's request, just given the nature of what we're looking for."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
That said, another former archivist noted that such massive requests could mean pulling staffers from other divisions of the Archives to help out. That swapping could hurt other operations in the end.
"Those units that have had to 'loan' people to the project, they're stuck," said Trudy Huskamp Peterson. "It trickles down."
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Inside The Peninsula, London’s first billion-pound hotelThe Week Recommends As the capital’s super-luxury hotel scene continues to expand, the respected brand is still setting the standard
-
AI is making houses more expensiveUnder the radar Homebuying is also made trickier by AI-generated internet listings
-
Crossword: October 22, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified filesSpeed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DCSpeed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operationsSpeed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rulesSpeed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
