That statement doesn't contradict the other NARA statements I provided. They are just carefully wording their statements to avoid blame since they are being scrutinized.
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The PRA makes clear that, upon the conclusion of the President’s term in office, NARA assumes responsibility for the custody, control, preservation of, and access to the records of a President. 44 U.S.C. 2203(g)(1).This is correct. NARA is responsible for custody and control of the records. They don't mention here that in on Feb 1, 2021, ten days after Trump left office, they were claiming that funding issues had prevented them from making the necessary arrangements, and which is why they didn't have the documents.
A Trump representative on NewsMax
said that NARA didn't get a facility for the documents and told them to take the documents to Mar-a-Lago. This lines up with NARA's claim that they didn't have funding to make arrangements for the documents.
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The PRA makes the legal status of Presidential records clear and unambiguous, providing that the United States reserves and retains “complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records.” 44 U.S.C. 2202NARA allowed the records to be at Mar-a-Lago, as evidenced by the quotes where they were working in cooperation with Trump since early 2021. Trump
also says that he was working in cooperation with them.
The quote they cite is also a bit misleading since the full quote is
https://www.archives.gov/about/laws/presidential-records.html"The United States shall reserve and retain complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records; and such records shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter."
and if you scroll down to the exemptions section it says that the records shall be available to the former president:
"Exceptions to restricted access
...
(3) the Presidential records of a former President shall be available to such former President or the former President’s designated representative."
So, Trump should have access to the records. They aren't something he shouldn't have access to.
NARA retained control of the documents, was responsible for them, and does not argue in their statements that they asked for them back and were refused. They did not ask for them back. They worked in cooperation with Trump through 2021 as they described.
>There is no history, practice, or provision in law for presidents to take official records with them when they leave office to sort through, such as for a two-year period as described in some reports.Here they leave out the fact that NARA had budgetary problems which prevented them from making appropriate arrangements for the materials, as they admitted on govexec.com, making it NARA's fault. They say that there is no provision in the law in that sentence, but also don't say that there is a restriction in the law. In the Feb 1, 2021 govexec.com quote they were basically arguing that it was just fine that they didn't have physical custody.
>If a former President or Vice President finds Presidential records among personal materials, he or she is expected to contact NARA in a timely manner to secure the transfer of those Presidential records to NARA.A deceitful fun fact, which does not mention that Trump representatives did do this and were the ones to reach out to NARA, as NARA has admitted.