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The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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National Security Archive sues White House for allegedly destroying records

The University’s National Security Archive is suing the White House claiming that President Donald Trump and his staff are deleting messages and violating presidential records laws.

The National Security Archive and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, an ethics watchdog organization, filed a court-ordered compliance Thursday alleging that the administration has been using encryption applications to destroy emails after they are read, Pittsburgh-based news outlet Trib Live reported.

The suit charges that using these applications could be illegal because many presidential records are legally required to be preserved.

The lawsuit also cites activity on Trump’s personal Twitter account claiming that deleted posts violate the Presidential Records Act.

Trump has deleted several posts from his personal account since taking office, including the viral “covfefe” tweet last month.

The complaint filed Thursday states that the email messages and Twitter posts should be counted as part of the “presidential record,” according to Trib Live.

“This destruction occurs with no independent assessment by the message sender or recipient of whether the message constitutes a presidential record,” the complaint states.

The complaint also addressed one of Trump’s tweets that implied he could be recording conversations with members of his staff.

“The President also has implied that he is secretly tape-recording some or all conversations with Administration officials, and it is unclear if these tapes are being preserved,” officials said in the complaint.

Trump tweeted Thursday that he is not in possession of any recordings involving his conversations with former FBI Director James Comey despite previously insinuating that he had tapes of their meetings.

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