Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

National Archives Bluntly Fact-Checks Trump's Claim That Bush And Clinton Mishandled Presidential Documents

National Archives Bluntly Fact-Checks Trump's Claim That Bush And Clinton Mishandled Presidential Documents
Mario Tama/Getty Images

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) offered a blunt fact-check after former Republican President Donald Trump claimed during a rally in Arizona that past Presidents have taken presidential documents with them when they leave office or kept them in "substandard conditions."

Trump has been embroiled in an ongoing investigation into his theft of classified and top secret documents from the White House retrieved from his Mar-a-Lago estate in August. He recently petitioned the Supreme Court—which is stacked with conservatives he appointed—in an effort to prevent the Department of Justice (DOJ) from reviewing the confidential materials he took in violation of several laws.


Speaking at a rally in Mesa, Arizona on Sunday, October 9, Trump lied to his MAGA minions about several past Presidents mishandling documents.

Trump said Democratic President Bill Clinton's records were taken "from the White House to a former car dealership" in Arkansas. He also said Democrat Barack Obama "moved more than 20 truckloads, over 33 million pages of documents, both classified and unclassified, to a poorly built and totally unsafe former furniture store located in a rather bad neighborhood in Chicago."

He also took aim at George W. Bush—a Republican and Trump critic—saying he "stored 68 million pages in a warehouse in Texas."

He even went after George H.W. Bush—the former's father—saying the elder Bush had taken "millions and millions of documents to a former bowling alley pieced together with what was then an old and broken Chinese restaurant."

NARA disputed each and every one of these tall tales in a press release calling Trump's statements "false and misleading."

NARA said the site they selected for Clinton's records was "formerly the Balch Motor Company" located in Little Rock, about 1.5 miles from "the site of the future Clinton Presidential Library."

The agency noted NARA negotiated the library's lease and would operate the facility until its opening.

The agency noted in its release NARA took "physical and legal custody of the Presidential Records" from the administrations of every former President since Republican Ronald Reagan left office in 1989.

It said all records go to temporary facilities leased from the General Services Administration (GSA), close to the site of future presidential libraries managed and staffed "exclusively by NARA employees."

Trump and his lies were immediately criticized.



In the months since the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago, Trump and his allies claimed he had no documents and the FBI planted them then he had the ability to declassify confidential information and documents telepathically, claims disputed by experts who noted there is a specific federal process that must be adhered to before any information can be declassified if they're eligible for declassification.

Trump—like all Presidents since the establishment of the Presidential Records Act of 1978—was required by federal law to turn over all documents to NARA regardless of classification. Instead, NARA noted Trump took them with him to Mar-a-Lago.

Mar-a-Lago is accessible by any individual who can pay the membership fee and members of the public who book facilities or attend events at the resort such as weddings or birthday parties. Surveillance video from Mar-a-Lago seemed to indicate the documents Trump took were not guarded or always kept in a locked room—despite some being classified or top secret.

Earlier this year and months before the search warrant was executed by the FBI, there were reports that while in office Trump regularly tore up documents and memos after reading them and even flushed some papers down the toilet.

Those reports were preceded by news The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) had retrieved from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate White House record boxes containing important communication records, gifts and letters from world leaders all required to be turned over to NARA.

More from People/donald-trump

Jasmine Crockett Calls Out Trump's Hypocrisy By Pointing Out How Melania Got Her Visa
Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for SiriusXM; Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Jasmine Crockett Calls Out Trump's Hypocrisy By Pointing Out How Melania Got Her Visa

Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett pointed out President Donald Trump's hypocrisy on immigration considering how First Lady Melania Trump's pathway to citizenship was possible because she received an "Einstein visa," which is usually reserved for an individual with "some sort of significant achievement."

Speaking during a House Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Restoring Integrity and Security to the Visa Process,” Crockett noted that “the idea that Trump and my Republican colleagues want to restore integrity and security in the visa process is actually a joke," and harshly criticized the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and visa restrictions.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Jennifer Griffin and Pete Hegseth
The Hill

Fox Host Comes To Reporter's Defense After Pete Hegseth Berates Her At Pentagon Briefing

Fox News' chief political analyst Brit Hume came to the defense of Fox national security reporter Jennifer Griffin after their former colleague, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, criticized Griffin as the reporter "who misrepresents the most intentionally what the president says” in a Pentagon news conference.

Hegseth, a former Fox News anchor, had criticized media outlets—including his former network—for what he described as unpatriotic reporting. Hegseth took particular aim at early intelligence assessments suggesting that President Donald Trump's bombing of Iran may not have significantly crippled Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

Keep ReadingShow less

Teachers Share The Questions Students Asked In Class That Broke Their Hearts

Being a teacher is a calling.

It is not for the meek or weak of heart.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Emily Compagno
Fox News

Fox Host Slams Dem For Dropping An F-Bomb After Praising Trump For The Same Thing Just Minutes Earlier

Fox News host Emily Compagno was criticized after she praised Donald Trump's use of the "f-bomb" earlier this week before condemning Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett's use of the same word—on the same episode of her show, no less.

Trump made headlines this week after admonishing Israel and Iran for violating a ceasefire agreement he'd announced on Truth Social. Although he claimed the ceasefire had been "agreed upon," Iran fired at least six missile barrages at Israel after it was supposed to take effect.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ken Jennings; Emily Croke
@Jeopardy/Instagram

Champ's Wild Final Jeopardy Connection

In a dramatic conclusion on last Monday’s Jeopardy!, a contestant revealed a surprising relationship to the final clue's answer. Hailing from Denver, Emily Croke made it to the final write-in portion of the game show with $12,200 in earnings.

In the category of “Collections,” host Ken Jennings read the clue:

Keep ReadingShow less