In the wake of new discoveries of classified documents found in the homes of Former Vice President Mike Pence, and President Biden, the National Archives asked former U.S. presidents and vice presidents on Thursday to re-check their personal records for any classified documents or other presidential CNN reported.
The National Archives and Records Administration, or NARA, sent a letter to representatives of former presidents and vice presidents from the last six presidential administrations covered by the Presidential Records Act (PRA), according to a CNN report.
The letter requested that the former leaders check their files to ensure that material thought to be personal does not inadvertently contain presidential records that are required by law to be turned over to the National Archives. The Archives did not respond to a request for comment.
“We request that you conduct an assessment of any materials held outside of NARA that relate to the Administration for which you serve as a designated representative under the PRA, to determine whether bodies of materials previously assumed to be personal in nature might inadvertently contain presidential or vice presidential records subject to the PRA, whether classified or unclassified,” CNN quoted the letter as saying.
A spokesman for former President Barack Obama told Reuters when asked about possible classified documents that his office had been given a “clean bill of health” by the National Archives.
The administration of George W. Bush “turned all presidential records over – both classified and unclassified – upon leaving the White House,” Bush spokesman Freddy Ford told Reuters.
Former President Jimmy Carter did not receive a letter from the National Archives, since the Presidential Records Act took effect after he left office.
The National Archives has come under criticism from Republicans who say it has not been transparent in the documents cases. The Oversight Committee of the House of Representatives, now controlled by Republicans, has scheduled a Jan. 31 transcribed interview with the Archives’ general counsel, a committee aide said.
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