The National Archives defines presidential records as any documentary materials “created or received” by the president, their immediate staff or anyone in the Executive Office of the President “whose function is to advise or assist the President” in the course of carrying out official duties.
The Trump White House said in April 2017 that it would not release the names of the president’s guests, arguing that it was a matter of national security. Former President Barack Obama also sought to keep some of the visitor records secret during his tenure, but ultimately he voluntarily released roughly six million such records by the end of his time in office.
The visitor logs have come under renewed scrutiny following the Jan. 6 attack by Trump supporters on the Capitol complex which left five people dead, including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick. Some Democrats have raised questions about potential coordination between some of the insurrectionists and elected Republican officials. They have pointed to guided tours of the building that occurred the day before the attack and have demanded an investigation.
One lawyer told POLITICO late last year that the Biden administration would not have “carte blanche” access to Trump administration records and would be required to make a request to NARA to locate a particular record.
“NARA would then need to consult with a representative of the relevant former president before providing it to the current White House,” the lawyer said. “But that is rare, and is usually done only when there is some novel issue that presents itself and the current administration is curious about how its predecessor handled it.”
Source Article from https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/03/biden-white-house-trump-visitor-logs-465564
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