Justice Department Seeks to Eliminate Watergate-Era Rule Requiring Public Access to Presidential Records
By
tlhunter
Sesame, salt, and substance. A flagship bake.
Summary
The article discusses the Justice Department's efforts to scrap a Watergate-era rule that makes presidential records public, arguing this would undermine government transparency and accountability. The piece connects this to recent controversies involving former President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and broader concerns about presidential record-keeping. The author, Lauren Harper, argues that eliminating the Presidential Records Act would allow private actors to control access to American history and weaken democratic oversight of executive power.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledEliminating the Presidential Records Act would allow private actors to hold the keys to American history, forever.
In this Justice Department handout photo, stacks of boxes can be observed in a bathroom and shower in the Mar-a-Lago Club's Lake Room at former U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.
President Donald Trump recently threatened genocide as political leverage on social media, which begs the question whether there are even more extreme conversations happening in private in the Oval Office.
Lauren Harper is Freedom of the Press Foundation's first Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy.
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