President Donald Trump's library can't find the direct messages that he sent on Twitter/X, and it's proving to be yet another document problem for the GOP leader.
In 2020, upon leaving the White House, Trump took dozens of boxes that included classified information and refused to return them to the National Archives. The Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978 mandated that all documents created or received by the president or vice president are the property of the U.S. government. Still, Trump refused to turn them over, which eventually resulted in a raid by the FBI to seize the files.
The National Archives documents everything in an administration, and each presidential library has its own documents. It doesn't include all documents from the administration and sifts out anything that is classified. Trump claimed that he took those documents because they were "mine" and would be in his presidential library. But none of those were archived before being sent off to the Trump library.
Now, according to the Washington Post, Trump's own library says all of the president's DMs have disappeared.
"This no-records response to a Freedom of Information Act request from The Washington Post comes as the Trump administration argues it does not need to follow the Presidential Records Act, a law designed to ensure the public has access to records of the president after he leaves office," the report said.
Trump had his Department of Justice write an "opinion" saying that they don't have to follow the PRA. Last month, a judge put a stop to that in an emergency order. It's unknown, however, whether the administration is following the court order. It's part of a lawsuit by groups that include American Historical Association.
On Jan. 20, The Washington Post made a Freedom of Information Act request for Trump's Twitter accounts @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS during his first term.
There is evidence Trump used the feature while in office, yet somehow, the National Archives said, “[w]e have been unable to locate any records related to” any direct messages, the report said.
It's unclear if someone deleted them. If they did, they're in violation of the law, the report said.
The National Archives published a notice of intent on Jan. 14, 2021, saying that it would use "ArchiveSocial" to "capture and manage [Presidential Records Act] social media accounts."
About a month later, Archivist David Ferriero sent a letter to members of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, saying that they “opted not to enable capture of direct messages” using the software.
The White House wouldn't respond to questions about it.
The Justice Department has claimed that the deadlines under FOIA are not enforceable for the Presidential Records Act. So, everyone requesting info can "wait their turn."
The Washington Post explained that it knows the direct messages exist because there were at least 32 of them included in Jack Smith's investigation and the public report.