Revelations of a roughly eight-hour gap in official records of former President Trump's phone calls during the Jan. 6 insurrection are raising questions about his record keeping. Here's how the presidential records act might apply here.
WHAT IS THE PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT?The law was passed in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, when a collection of secret tapes that President Richard Nixon had considered destroying played a defining role. The tapes revealed that Nixon tried to cover up the bungled burglary of Democratic National Committee headquarters. He chose to resign rather than face impeachment and removal from office.
for violating the Presidential Records Act. The statute by definition depends on the goodwill of presidents and their staff to police their own record keeping. “It does require a certain element of good faith and sort of an honor system, and when that crumbles, you can see the limitations,” Chervinsky said.