Lawsuit challenges DOJ memo finding presidential records law unconstitutional
A pair of organizations filed a lawsuit challenging the Justice Department's determination that a presidential records law is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., by the American Historical Association, the largest membership association of historians in the world, and American Oversight, a nonprofit government watchdog group.
The legal fight involves a memorandum opinion from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel that declared the Presidential Records Act unconstitutional. The Justice Department said as a result of its determination about the constitutionality of the law, President Trump does not need to comply with it.
"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 complaint from the two nonprofit groups says. "Yet the stakes of this case are even greater. The Executive Branch has declared the power to override the legal determinations of the U.S. Supreme Court, in order to override the laws passed by Congress to preserve and provide public access to official records of the President's activities."
The groups are seeking a court order upholding the Presidential Records Act and requiring Mr. Trump and senior White House officials to comply with their duties under the law. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell has been assigned to the case.
The Presidential Records Act was enacted in 1978 in the wake of the Watergate scandal. It established that presidential records belong to the U.S. government, not the president personally, and must be preserved. The law requires certain White House records to be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration at the end of a presidential administration.