NARA Followup

August 30, 2022
Ms. Debra Steidel Wall

Acting Archivist of the United States
700 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20004
Dear Ms. Wall:
This is in response to your letter dated August 16, 2022, and to inquire as to whether you
would like to amend the representations made in that letter regarding the events leading up to,
and the National Archives’ (NARA) involvement in, the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago.
Specifically, in that letter you stated:
Since that time, [the point at which NARA referred the matter of classified
documents to the Department of Justice] DOJ has been exclusively
responsible for all aspects of this investigation, and NARA has not been
involved in the DOJ investigation or any searches that it has conducted.
Accordingly, NARA is unable to provide a briefing or any documents
in response to your letter, and we refer you to the DOJ.1
The accuracy of this statement has been called into question in recent days.
On August 22, 2022, Just the News published a letter demonstrating robust negotiations
between NARA and former President Trump’s attorney, Evan Corcoran.2 Also on August 22,
2022, the New York Times reported: “…the material in the boxes prompted archives officials to
refer the matter to the Justice Department, which within months had convened a grand jury
investigation.”3 The article explains that NARA “spent much of 2021 trying to get back material
from Mr. Trump,” as well as noting NARA’s role in preserving presidential records.4
1
Letter from Ms. Debra Steidel Wall, Acting Archivist of the U.S. to Hon. James Comer, Ranking Member, H.
Comm. on Oversight & Reform (Aug. 16, 2022) (emphasis added).
2
Ben Whedon, Full Text of National Archives Letter to Trump on Classified Documents, JUST THE NEWS (Aug. 22,
2022). Also now available at: https://www.archives.gov/files/foia/wall-letter-to-evan-corcoran-re-trump-boxes-
05.10.2022.pdf).
3
Maggie Haberman, Jodi Kantor, Adam Goldman, & Ben Protess, Trump Had More Than 300 Classified
Documents at Mar-a-Lago, N.Y. TIMES (Aug. 22, 2022).
4
Id.
Acting Archivist Wall
August 30, 2022
Page 2 of 5
While your letter acknowledges the referral to the DOJ, it ignores the first two requests
made in the August 10, 2022, letter to you.5 Specifically, that letter requested:
1. All documents and communications between any employee or agent of NARA and the
FBI or Department of Justice, including the Offices of the United States Attorneys,
regarding former President Trump;
2. All documents and communications between or among employees or agents of NARA

regarding any documents in the possession of former President Trump.6
The time period covered by this request—as stated in the letter—is January 20, 2021, to
the present.7 The letter to Mr. Corcoran, along with any other documents demonstrating
negotiations with former President Trump’s team as reported on by the New York Times, would
certainly be covered by the above requests. Moreover, the letter to Mr. Corcoran specifically
mentions communications between NARA and the DOJ (e.g., “NARA informed the Department
of Justice…”; “The Assistant Attorney General has advised me…”; “…which the Assistant
Attorney General informs me…”). It is puzzling that you and your staff would blatantly deny
the existence of such responsive documents or communications to Congress. It is implausible
that there would be no internal communications by NARA employees regarding the subject
matter of the letter to Mr. Corcoran, as your letter to us would indicate.
Transparency is particularly important in the post-pandemic era when Americans are

lacking trust in our nation’s institutions. Congress, and particularly the Oversight Committee,
has a duty to provide transparency and accountability for the American people. We request that
you revisit your prior communications to Oversight Republicans and amend your prior
statements as necessary. Likewise, we expect your office to provide a briefing and documents
responsive to the August 10, 2022, letter signed by 20 Republican Members of the Oversight
Committee.
On August 24, 2022, the New York Times again reported on communications between
NARA general counsel, Gary Stern, and former President Trump’s White House attorneys.8
While these documents are undoubtedly covered by request number two, above, since NARA
employees were courtesy copied and likely received earlier draft copies, to be abundantly clear,
please provide the following documents and information related to former President Trump’s
records no later than September 13, 2022, for the time period January 1, 2021 and present:
5
Letter from Hon. James Comer & nineteen other Republican Members of the H. Oversight & Reform Comm. to
Ms. Debra Steidel Wall, Acting Archivist of the U.S., (Aug. 10, 2022) available at https://republicans-
oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022-08-10-NARA-MAL567537660.pdf.
6
Id.
7
Id.
8
Alan Feuer & Maggie Haberman, Email Shows Early Tension Between Trump & National Archives, N.Y. TIMES
(Aug. 24, 2022) (article notes that John Laster, a NARA official, was copied on the correspondence to former
President Trump’s attorneys).
August 30, 2022
Page 3 of 5
1. All documents and communications between employees or agents of NARA and

President Trump, his representatives, and/or counsel.
2. All documents and communications between employees or agents of NARA and any
White House official(s).
To make arrangements to schedule the briefing or ask any related follow-up questions,
please contact Committee on Oversight and Reform Republican Staff at (202) 225-5074.
Documents may be provided electronically by the same means you have been producing to
Committee Democrats over the course of this Congress. The Committee on Oversight and
Reform is the principal oversight Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and has broad
authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X. Thank you in advance
for your cooperation with this inquiry.
Sincerely,
_________________________ _________________________
James Comer Jody Hice
Ranking Member Ranking Member
Committee on Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Government
Operations
_________________________ _________________________
Glenn S. Grothman Michael Cloud
Subcommittee on National Security Subcommittee on Economic and
Consumer Policy
_________________________ _________________________
Nancy Mace Yvette Herrell
Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Subcommittee on Environment
Civil Liberties
August 30, 2022
Page 4 of 5
__________________________ __________________________
Jim Jordan Virginia Foxx
Member of Congress Member of Congress
__________________________ __________________________
Bob Gibbs Clay Higgins
__________________________ __________________________
Ralph Norman Pete Sessions
__________________________ __________________________
Fred Keller Andy Biggs
__________________________ __________________________
Andrew S. Clyde C. Scott Franklin
__________________________ __________________________
Jake LaTurner Pat Fallon
__________________________ __________________________
Byron Donalds Mike Flood
cc: The Honorable Carolyn Maloney, Chairwoman

Committee on Oversight and Reform
August 30, 2022
Page 5 of 5
The Honorable Gerald E. Connolly, Chairman

Subcommittee on Government Operations
The Honorable Stephen F. Lynch, Chairman

Subcommittee on National Security
The Honorable Raja Krishnamoorthi, Chairman

Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy
The Honorable Ro Khanna, Chairman

Subcommittee on Environment
The Honorable Jamie Raskin, Chairman

Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

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August 30, 2022

Ms. Debra Steidel Wall

Dear Ms. Wall:

2. All documents and communications between or among employees or agents of NARA

Transparency is particularly important in the post-pandemic era when Americans are

1. All documents and communications between employees or agents of NARA and

cc: The Honorable Carolyn Maloney, Chairwoman

The Honorable Gerald E. Connolly, Chairman

The Honorable Stephen F. Lynch, Chairman

The Honorable Raja Krishnamoorthi, Chairman

The Honorable Ro Khanna, Chairman

The Honorable Jamie Raskin, Chairman

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