The reason former President Donald Trump is fighting tooth and nail to keep his White House records hidden from public disclosure is to avoid prison time, according to two former National Archives officials.
During an interview with The Daily Beast, Don W. Wilson and John W. Carlin, who each had years-long stints as the official archivist of the United States, condemned Trump and his allies for trying to keep his White House records locked away from the special congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection—and his potential role in it.
“Given how frantic they are… there are things in those records that are going to make real trouble. I’m talking about prison time,” Carlin told The Daily Beast. “It reinforces the fact that they know they’re in real trouble if these things are released—particularly if they’re released soon.”
As noted by The Beast, “An outgoing president’s White House records go straight to the National Archives and Records Administration, where they could be kept away from the public for up to 12 years. However, President Joe Biden waived that presidential privilege when he allowed the bipartisan House Jan. 6 Committee to request some documents about Trump’s final weeks in office. Trump sued to block that, and his odd claims of ‘residual’ executive privilege got knocked down by a federal judge who noted “presidents are not kings” and an appellate panel that found his argument has “no basis.” This epic fight over records is now reaching the Supreme Court.”
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Carlin added that Trump “thought he was somehow protected. It would be like writing a letter as a government official, then saying, ‘I wrote that on paper I bought and paid for, not federal paper.’ Baloney!
“It’s important that records are used to get the truth out. Nothing highlights that more than the controversy we’re going through. Records are going to have a huge impact in determining who did what, particularly as you get to the Justice Department.”
Carlin went on to compare Trump’s reticence to the secrecy of Richard Nixon, who was forced to turn over White House tapes by the Supreme Court and resigned in 1974 rather than face impeachment for his crooked tactics.
