U.S. President Donald Trump reacts at the end of the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 24, 2026. REUTERS KEVIN LAMARQUE
Judge Ana Reyes issued a Tuesday order preserving documents after a whistleblower reported that President Donald Trump's administration was destroying papers concerning his construction projects. However, a former Trump whistleblower said on Tuesday that while paper shreds witnesses do not, and Trump’s attempt to hide his wrongdoing and shady contracts will still see the light of day through testimony.
“Here's my warning to them,” said Miles Taylor, on his Tuesday Defiance Daily podcast. “You guys can try to get rid of the papal trail, but unless you get rid of literally all the humans who are witnesses to it, the witnesses are the paper trail.”
“Those people will get subpoenaed,” added Taylor. “Those people will get deposed. Those people will end up flipping on each other, and if you go back to January 6th and the investigation into the insurrection, I think you will find that the most damning information didn't come from documents. It came from the revelations of people who witnessed wrongdoing. And that's what's going to happen here, I hope, with the Trump appointees tonight sitting there at the shredder and at the burn bag, trying to get rid of these documents. Hear this message: accountability is coming for you, no matter what.”
Show co-host Maritsa Georgiou was quick to add that it is actually in witnesses’ best interest to come forward with information because, unlike the president, the Republican Supreme Court has not given them presidential immunity.
“And just to remember that the immunity ruling is for the president, not for you at the paper shredder. It's not for you, hitting the delete button on the computer,” said Georgiou. “So, if you had to bet that if this President will look out for you when push comes to shove, I know where I would place my bet.”
Congressional sources told CNN on Tuesday that House Democrats are already demanding that the Interior department preserve and retain documents related to Trump’s construction projects around Washington after whistleblowers warned that key paperwork is being destroyed. Multiple whistleblowers approached CNN and relevant committees to voice concern that the Interior Department is getting rid of records in anticipation of forthcoming scrutiny.
Speaking to CNN, the Interior Department called the whistleblower claims “100 percent false.”
Still, in her court order, Reyes made it clear that all documents must be preserved, and aimed her order to the National Park Service, the Justice Department, the Department of the Interior and any of their components or offices retain all documents. She also ordered that no major work be done on the Potomac East Golf Course without informing her. She has also appointed a former Trump AG to investigate if Trump’s DOJ and Dept. of Interior “lied” to her about the president's intentions on developments.
