Memo to Former US Presidents and Vice Presidents: Check your files
Washington: The US National Archives has asked former presidents and vice presidents to reexamine their personal records for classified documents after it was revealed that President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence had such documents in their possession, two people familiar with the matter said.
The archives have sent a letter to representatives of former leaders dating back to Ronald Reagan to ensure compliance with the Presidential Records Act, according to the two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about investigations . The law states that all records created or received by the president are the property of the US government and are maintained by the archives at the end of the term.
From left: Former US Presidents George HW Bush, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter in the Oval Office in 2009.Credit:AP
The archive sent the letter to representatives of Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George HW Bush and Ronald Reagan, as well as former Vice Presidents Pence, Biden, Dick Cheney, Al Gore and Dan Quayle, they said.
The letter was sent on Thursday and was first reported by CNN.
Spokespersons for Trump, Obama, George W. Bush and Clinton, as well as Pence, Cheney, Al Gore and Quayle, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Biden’s lawyers uncovered classified documents from his time as vice president while packing up an office he no longer uses in November. The documents were found in a locked cupboard. Since then, subsequent searches by the FBI and Biden’s attorneys have turned up additional documents. Pence also discovered documents this week and turned them in after saying he didn’t think he had any.
Secret documents found in US President Joe Biden’s old office and home.Credit:Bloomberg
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but searches by Biden’s attorney and the FBI appear to fulfill the archives’ request.
The archive had no comment.
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