The National Archives delivered more damning revelations in a letter Friday, finding that Trump White House aides were conducting official government business via non-approved non-government electronic messaging apps. NARA also confirmed that there were “items marked as classified national security information” in the 15 boxes being stored in the former president’s Mar-a-Lago suite, in violation of federal law.
“NARA has also learned that some White House staff conducted official business using non-official electronic messaging accounts that were not copied or forwarded into their official electronic messaging accounts, as required by section 2209 of the PRA,” it said referring to the Presidential Records Act.
Trump won office in 2016 in part by distorting and politicizing Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email address and server, which were not violations of law.
The National Archives letter makes clear classified documents were in fact in those 15 cartons, and that it has contacted the DOJ.
“Because NARA identified classified information in the boxes, NARA staff has been in communication with the Department of Justice.”
It also reveals that as far back as 2018 it knew Trump was destroying documents and asked the White House Counsel to intervene. Although they said they would, the document destruction, reportedly including by flushing documents down the toilet, had continued.