House Chairs Send Letters to Agencies and Administration Calling for Preservation of Documents

According to a press release from November 10, 2020, House committee chairs sent dozens of letters to the Trump administration and various federal agencies directing them to preserve documents and comply with federal record-keeping laws. As Congress prepares for a transition of power and the start of a new Congress, the chairs reminded agencies of their duty to preserve information responsive to congressional subpoenas and investigations and comply with the Presidential Records Act and the Federal Records Act.

The chairs of various House committees said in a letter to White House Counsel Pat Cippollone, “As the Trump Administration prepares for the transition of power to the new Biden Administration, we write to remind you that all Executive Office of the President employees and officials must comply with record preservation obligations set forth in federal law and preserve information relevant to congressional oversight.”

The letters request that all communications related to official business on both public and private devices be preserved, including those sent using texting apps or over the web using end-to-end encryption. This move comes as there is increased pressure on Congress and the administration to be transparent in their transition plans.

In the past, agencies in this administration have been criticized for a failure to provide timely access to agency records.

For example, the Office of Personnel Management Inspector General outlined in July how the central personnel office missed or delayed several deadlines regarding the production of agency records regarding their use of direct hiring authorities.

In the letters to agencies, the House chairs stated, “You are obligated to ensure that any information previously requested by Congress—and any other information that is required by law to be preserved—is saved and appropriately archived in a manner that is easily retrievable.”