On Wednesday, a federal judge mandated that White House staff and President Trump’s advisors comply with a law necessitating the preservation of certain presidential records. U.S. District Judge John Bates issued a 54-page decision, granting a preliminary injunction that requires most White House employees to preserve records under the Presidential Records Act.
The Presidential Records Act, established in 1978 after the Watergate scandal, asserted public ownership of presidential records. Among those required to follow the order are White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, the National Security Council, the Council of Economic Advisers, and employees within the Executive Office of the President. President Trump and Vice President JD Vance are exempt from this directive. The injunction will take effect at 9 a.m. on May 26.
The decision arose following a memorandum by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which claimed that the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional as it goes beyond Congressional power. This office argued that President Trump was not obliged to comply with it.
Organizations like the American Historical Association, American Oversight, and the Freedom of the Press Foundation contested the Justice Department’s opinion. They filed a lawsuit to annul the opinion and sought an order for White House officials to comply and preserve records.
The judge, in his ruling supporting this request, stated that the Presidential Records Act is “likely constitutional,” differing from the Justice Department’s view.
Judge Bates wrote, “To accept the government’s stance that the Act is unconstitutional would prevent Congress and future Presidents from learning from past experiences…” He emphasized that the presidency, as significant as it is, is not exempt from constraints. Each government branch draws legitimacy from the people’s trust, and Congress determined that the Act helps maintain public trust by illuminating presidential activities.
He noted no comparable scandal to Watergate since, which indicates that the Records Act serves its purpose effectively. Judge Bates asserted that it is not the court’s role to question Congress’s lawful decision that the public should eventually access presidential records.
Reacting to the decision, plaintiffs celebrated the court granting emergency relief. Chioma Chukwu, American Oversight’s Executive Director, remarked, “Today’s ruling is a crucial win for presidential accountability… the constitutionality of the Presidential Records Act is affirmed.” The court recognized the risk in replacing federal law with a system reliant on presidential discretion and trust.
Enacted post-Nixon’s resignation, the Presidential Records Act declares presidential records as U.S. government property, not personal assets of the president. It stipulates that most presidential documents must be transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration following an administration and sets rules for maintaining and accessing this information.
The Act applies to the president, vice president, and parts of the Executive Office of the President, including the National Security Council. Personal records of a purely private or nonpublic nature are excluded from this Act.
The American Historical Association and American Oversight highlighted in their lawsuit a “strong reason” to think President Trump might keep presidential records when his term concludes in January 2029. As evidence, they cited the 15 boxes of records he retained at the end of his first term in 2021, a struggle for the Archives to reclaim. These boxes contained thousands of documents, some classified, and Mr. Trump claimed the Act allowed him to keep them.
He was later charged by former special counsel Jack Smith for mishandling classified records, but the case was closed after his reelection in 2024. The Justice Department has not yet commented on the ruling.
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