Are Trump presidential records still missing? The answer could take years — or may never come
WASHINGTON — As questions continue to swirl about the 11,000 records the FBI recovered during its raid of former President Donald Trump's Florida home, Congress has asked the National Archives to provide it with a preliminary report by Tuesday detailing what Trump presidential records might still be missing.
The National Archives and Records Administration hasn't formally responded. But given the realities of what goes into processing presidential records, and questions about the quality of record-keeping in the Trump White House, experts told the Los Angeles Times the archives might not have a firm grasp of what is missing for years — if ever.
"It is unreasonable to expect that [national] archivists are in a position to say at this time what additional records may be missing," said Jason R. Baron, former director of litigation at the National Archives.
Processing presidential records for eventual public use is a painstaking process that can take decades. At minimum, the National Archives has five years before the public can request access to a president's records, but that doesn't mean all of the material will be ready for public use by then. The Presidential Records Act also lets presidents restrict certain categories of records, such as confidential communications with advisers,
