The National Archives of the United States asked Trump to return documents as early as 2021 | NOW

The National Archives of the United States asked former President Donald Trump more than a year before… raid in Mar-a-Lago already asking for the return of a large number of documents. The Washington Post holds a May 2021 email in which the head of the institution, Gary Stern, asks Trump’s lawyers for the paperwork.

In the email, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) notes that some 24 boxes of official documents were stored in the residential area of ​​the White House during Trump’s last presidential year.

One of Trump’s lawyers reportedly ordered the documents to be turned over to NARA just before the president left office in January 2021. As of the May 2021 email, that had still not happened.

It was unclear where at least two documents were, according to the email. It was a letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and a letter that Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama sent to him early in his presidency.

According The Washington Post Stern made several attempts to get his hands on the documents in the fall of 2021. It was only after he threatened to inform Congress of the situation that Trump allegedly cooperated.

The former president handed over the first 15 boxes in January 2022. About 150 confidential documents were found there. This was one of the factors leading up to the August 8 FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago. During this action and a voluntary handover in June, another 150 confidential documents are said to have surfaced.