Breaking the law....

National Archives warned Trump White House to preserve documents

White House officials assured National Archives staff that employees in President Donald Trump’s administration were being reminded of the rules.

By JOSH DAWSEY and BRYAN BENDER

National Archives officials have periodically warned White House lawyers that the Trump administration needs to follow document preservation laws, according to people familiar with the conversations and emails reviewed by POLITICO.

The White House legally must preserve all presidential records, which are given to the National Archives after the president leaves office and are used for historical records. The documents that must be preserved include written memos, emails, speeches, record logs and more.

But National Archives officials have told the White House counsel's office they were concerned that wasn't happening, particularly early in the administration, officials with knowledge of the discussions said. Conversations have included John Laster and Gary Stern, two National Archives officials, and the White House counsel's office.

After those conversations, White House officials assured National Archives staff that employees in President Donald Trump’s administration were being reminded of the laws, according to documents reviewed by POLITICO. The documents were provided by the National Archives after POLITICO requested copies of communications with the White House.

In the most recent such email seen by POLITICO, dated Oct. 2, Stefan Passantino, a senior White House lawyer, forwarded to National Archives staff directives that had recently been sent to administration employees.

"Pursuant to our conversation this morning ... the email chain below recirculates written guidance issued in February consistent with verbal instruction our team has been providing since Transition," Passantino wrote.

The exchanges with the National Archives staff come amid concerns that the White House has been haphazard about its handling of government materials. POLITICO previously reported that numerous White House officials used personal devices and email accounts for work, raising questions from watchdogs and congressional investigators about document preservation and internal security in Trump’s administration.

A White House spokesman declined to comment. The White House has previously said it is following all records laws. The National Archives said it could not comment on private conversations with the White House, what prompted them or how its officials responded to the lawyers’ emails.

The note to staff that Passantino forwarded to the National Archives officials was initially sent out in the White House on Sept. 26, one day after it was revealed that senior adviser Jared Kushner and others had been using private email accounts to conduct government work. The White House also launched a probe into private email use later that week, POLITICO reported.

White House staff members were sternly reminded in the memo about proper use of communications and record-keeping responsibilities under the law: “Use of personal email, text messages, instant messages, social networks, messaging apps (such as Snapchat, Confide, Slack or others) or other internet-based means of communication to conduct official business is not permitted ..."

They were also advised that “all work-related communications” must be done on official government email accounts — and any official communications received on a private email account must be forwarded to the work account.

The White House memo also covered regulations for preserving paper records and archiving electronic files.

“Failure to abide by these requirements may lead to administrative penalties,” White House officials were reminded. “The willful destruction or concealment of federal records is a federal crime.”

Passantino also told employees in the memo that they must screenshot any personal text messages about government business.

He sent a second memo that same day telling the National Archives that every new employee was required to attend a 45-minute training session on ethics in the White House. That training includes guidance on travel, the Hatch Act, personal and professional email, disclosure issues, conflicts of interest and gifts.

Still, questions about how the administration preserves materials for historians’ use have gone on for much of Trump's tenure in the White House.

"This administration has been so careless in observing the requirements of the Presidential Records Act," said Anne Weismann of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, referring to the 1978 law governing collection of White House documents.

The nonpartisan watchdog group is suing the Trump administration over its adherence to the records law, citing the use by White House officials of encrypted smartphone apps to communicate, such as Confide and Signal, which are designed to delete data.

"It is an end run around the entire law," Weismann said.

Weeks into the administration, Democratic Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Tom Carper of Delaware expressed concerns to David Ferriero, the archivist of the United States.

“Both the Presidential Records Act and the Federal Records Act require covered officials to preserve work-related communications,” they wrote in March. “White House staff and federal officials should not feel pressured to avoid communicating in the manner that best facilitates the fulfillment of their professional responsibilities.”

Ferriero, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009, responded by outlining a series of guidelines that have been shared with White House officials to ensure that all presidential communications are being preserved — including reminding officials that secure smartphone apps are expressly prohibited for conducting official business and that all tweets, including those that may be deleted, must be retained.

The National Archives and Records Administration "has advised the White House that it should capture and preserve all tweets that the president posts in the course of his official duties, including those that are subsequently deleted, as presidential records, and NARA has been informed by White House officials that they are, in fact, doing so,” Ferriero wrote.