Overview
- Multiple news outlets reported on June 3 that the Trump Presidential Library told The Washington Post it was “unable to locate any records” of direct messages from the @realDonaldTrump or @POTUS accounts in response to a FOIA filed on January 20, 2025.
- Federal court filings in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s probe show Twitter complied with a warrant and produced at least 32 direct messages tied to the @realDonaldTrump account from October 2020 through January 2021.
- NARA had planned in January 2021 to use vendor ArchiveSocial to archive presidential social posts, but then‑Archivist David Ferriero told Congress in 2022 that the Trump administration chose not to enable capture of direct messages.
- The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel issued an April 2026 opinion arguing the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional and White House counsel narrowed preservation guidance, and a federal judge issued a May 20 injunction ordering compliance and blocking destruction of records while lawsuits proceed.
- The Washington Post has appealed the library’s no‑records FOIA reply and seeks a broader search, a step that could force court review of preservation practices and affect public access to presidential communications and the historical record.