Washington, Jan 26 – The National Archives of the United States on Thursday asked the former presidents and vice presidents of the country to review their personal records in case they could contain confidential documents.
The petition comes after classified files were found at the personal residence of US President Joe Biden, former Vice President Mike Pence and the Mar-a-Lago, Florida residence of former Republican President Donald Trump.
In a letter obtained by CNN, the office, which is in charge of guarding all presidential records, asks the representatives of the presidents and vice presidents of the last six Administrations -since Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)- to review that his belongings do not include official documents.
“The responsibility of abiding by the Presidential Records Law – the regulation that obliges the delivery of all the documents of an administration to the National Archives – does not diminish when a Government ends,” the letter explains.
The National Archives notes that while classified documents have garnered attention in recent cases, any documents from these administrations must be turned over to the office.
Former President Jimmy Carter, who was the one who signed the Presidential Records Act, is exempt from complying with it since its application did not begin until he left office, although his representatives assured CNN that they handed over all the presidential documents when his government ended. .
Former Vice President Mike Pence was the latest former senior official to reveal that he found classified documents among his personal files, after a similar disclosure by Biden prompted many to draw parallels to Trump’s refusal to hand over classified documents. forced the FBI to stage a raid on Mar-a-Lago.