Former President Trump on Thursday called reports of his handling of White House records “no big deal,” after questions were raised over the recent transfer of documents to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) from his Florida resort.
“The media’s characterization of my relationship with NARA is Fake News. It was exactly the opposite! It was a great honor to work with NARA to help formally preserve the Trump Legacy,” said Trump in a Thursday statement, in which he says he arranged for boxes containing “letters, records, newspapers, magazines, and various articles” to be transported to NARA after “collaborative and respectful discussions.”
According to the Washington Post, 15 boxes of White House records were recovered from Mar-a-Lago – which the New York Times added may have contained classified documents.
“The papers were given easily and without conflict and on a very friendly basis, which is different from the accounts being drawn up by the Fake News Media,” said Trump. “In fact, it was viewed as routine and ‘no big deal.’ In actuality, I have been told I was under no obligation to give this material based on various legal rulings that have been made over the years.”
Trump added that reports he flushed papers down the toilet was fake news, calling it “categorically untrue and simply made up by a reporter in order to get publicity for a mostly fictitious book,” referring to Times correspondent Maggie Haberman’s new book, “Confidence Man.”
Last month, the National Archives transferred more than 700 pages of presidential documents that Trump had sought to block to the House elect committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
In a lawsuit filed against the committee, Trump called the request a “vexatious, illegal fishing expedition openly endorsed by Biden and designed to unconstitutionally investigate President Trump and his administration.”
However, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision to allow the documents to be transferred, saying in its decision that Trump’s “status as a former President necessarily made no difference to the court’s decision.” –The Hill
Perhaps Democrats will launch another impeachment?