WASHINGTON — The National Archives and Records Administration on Thursday asked former presidents and vice presidents to “conduct an assessment” to determine whether they have classified materials in their possession.
In a letter to designated records representatives, the National Archives referred to “several instances reported in the media where documents containing classified information subject to the Presidential Records Act (PRA) have been identified outside the physical custody of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).”
“The responsibility to comply with the PRA does not diminish after the end of an administration,” the letter said. reported first by CNN and later obtained by NBC News.
Under the Presidential Records Act, all presidential and vice presidential records — including all classified records — must be turned over to Archives at the end of their term.
Therefore, we request that you conduct a review of all materials held outside of NARA pertaining to the administration for which you serve as an appointed agent under the PRA to determine whether masses of materials previously believed to be personal nature, could inadvertently contain Presidential or Vice Presidential documents subject to the PRA, whether classified or unclassified,” the letter said.
A spokesman for the records declined to comment on the letter, which was sent after classified documents were found in the homes of former vice presidents Joe Biden and Mike Pence, as well as an office Biden previously used.
Both Biden and Pence said they did not know they had the documents until lawyers found them.
Those discoveries came after it emerged that former President Donald Trump had left the White House with more than 300 documents with classification markers. More than 100 of those documents were found during an FBI search of Trump’s Florida estate in August. That came after Trump’s lawyers said all such documents, subpoenaed by federal authorities, had been turned over to the Justice Department.
The offices of former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama told NBC News earlier this week that they were in compliance with the records law.
On Thursday, the Bush office responded to the archives letter by saying, “Thank you for your message. We understand its purpose and remain confident that such materials are not in our possession.”
The other living former president, Jimmy Carter, signed the PRA into law in 1978, but it did not apply to his administration’s records.
Former Vice President Dan Quayle’s office said Thursday: “We have not received any investigation from the National Archives. If we do, we will cooperate fully.”
Kelly O’Donnell contributed.