Trump's White House could destroy records to 'cover its own tracks' — and 'sabotage' Biden


The president who made a pretty big stink about Hillary Clinton's emails is doing a lot of deleting himself.
Early in President Trump's term, then-White House Counsel Don McGahn warned the executive branch against destroying any presidential records or performing online communications on anything but official email accounts. But it doesn't seem the Trump White House followed that guidance, and could embark on a records-destroying fest as the president's term winds down, Jill Lepore reports for The New Yorker.
The Presidential Records Act puts all of a president's records into the public domain five years after they leave office; a former president can request 12 years for sensitive documents. But as David Ferriero, the United States' archivist, describes, the PRA "operates, essentially, as an honor system." "If the president wanted to, he could pull together all of the pieces of paper that he has in his office and have a bonfire with them," Kel McClanahan, a national security lawyer, told The New Yorker.
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.
"The rules about record-keeping, like so much about American government, weren't set up with someone like Trump in mind," Lepore writes. Trump's daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump used a personal email to conduct official business, his son-in-law Jared Kushner regularly used the encrypted messaging service WhatsApp, and the president himself regularly deletes his own tweets. And as Trump prepares to exit the White House on not-so-great terms, "it's not impossible that his White House will destroy records not so much to cover its own tracks but to sabotage the Biden Administration," Lepore says. "This would be a crime, of course, but Trump could issue blanket pardons." Read more at The New Yorker.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Israel's Western allies pull back amid Gaza escalation
speed read Britain and the EU are reconsidering allegiance with Israel as the Gaza siege continues
-
Trump drops ceasefire demand after Putin call
speed read Following a phone call with Russia's president, Trump backed off an earlier demand that Putin agree to an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine
-
Pro-EU centrist beats Trump acolyte in Romania vote
speed read The mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, defeated hard-right nationalist George Simion in the race for Romania's presidency
-
Israel-US 'rift': is Trump losing patience with Netanyahu?
Today's Big Question US president called for an end to Gaza war and negotiated directly with Hamas to return American hostage, amid rumours of strained relations
-
Kurdish PKK militia to disband for Turkey talks
speed read The Kurdistan Workers' Party will disarm after four decades of armed conflict with Turkey, putting an end to 'one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East'
-
US, China agree to lower tariffs for 90 days
speed read US tariffs will fall to 30% from 145%, while China will cut its tax on US imports to 10% from 125%
-
India strikes Pakistan as tensions mount in Kashmir
speed read Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called it an 'act of war'
-
Israel approves plan to take over Gaza indefinitely
speed read Benjamin Netanyahu says the country is 'on the eve of a forceful entry'