The classified documents scandal that first started with former President Donald Trump — before involving President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence — just got yet another twist.
Former presidents and vice presidents stretching back to the administration of former President Ronald Reagan were notified by the National Archives on Thursday that they must make sure they are being compliant with the Presidential Records Act (PRA) — and they should immediately check their personal correspondents for any missing or mislabled documents.
The PRA stretches back through six administrations. Representatives of former Presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan, each received a letter from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
Representatives of former Vice Presidents Mike Pence, Joe Biden, Dick Cheney, Al Gore, and Dan Quayle were also sent a copy.
“The responsibility to comply with the PRA does not diminish after the end of an administration,” the notification reads
It continues: “Therefore, we request that you conduct an assessment of any materials held outside of NARA that relate to the Administration for which you serve as a designated representative under the PRA, to determine whether bodies of materials previously assumed to be personal in nature might inadvertently contain Presidential or Vice Presidential records subject to the PRA, whether classified or unclassified.”
Any materials thought to be personal but that may “inadvertently” contain presidential records covered by the PRA are to be turned over immediately, the National Archives said.
The letter says that “while much of the attention of these instances has focused on the classified information, the PRA requires that all Presidential records of every Administration from Reagan onward must be transferred to NARA, regardless of classification status.”
Notably absent is former President Jimmy Carter, who was previously found to have taken home classified information and was forced to return it.
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