Overview
- The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, in a 52-page opinion released Thursday, said the 1978 law is unconstitutional and told the president he “need not further comply.”
- The Presidential Records Act makes White House files government property and directs the National Archives to take custody when a presidency ends.
- OLC opinions bind the executive branch, though courts can overrule them and Congress can change the statute.
- The White House says it is preserving emails and other materials under an internal program and is discussing next steps with the National Archives.
- The opinion arrives after Trump-era records disputes, including torn documents and boxes kept at Mar-a-Lago that led to a 2023 classified-documents case dismissed in 2024, and it could restrict future public access to presidential files.