WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) – A U.S. historians’ organization and a government transparency group are suing President Donald Trump to force ?his administration to comply with a presidential records preservation law after the U.S. Justice Department ?declared the measure unconstitutional.
The American Historical Association and American Oversight on Monday asked the federal court in Washington to declare the nearly 50-year-old Presidential Records Act to be lawful and to bar federal agencies from relying on the Justice ?Department’s legal memo that deemed it illegal.
The lawsuit, opens new tab also asked the court for an injunction that ?would require Trump to comply with the law after he leaves office.
“This case ?is about the preservation of records that document our nation’s history, and whether the American people ?are able to access and learn from that history,” the lawsuit said.
The White House in a statement said: “President ?Trump is committed to preserving records from his historic Administration and he will maintain a rigorous records retention program.”
Chioma Chukwu, executive director of American Oversight, said in a statement that the Justice Department is “pushing a sweeping view of presidential ?power that would hand control of those records to the White House — a position the Supreme ?Court has already rejected.”
Read more
