Federal judge rules White House must comply with Presidential Records Act

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that White House aides must comply with the Presidential Records Act, despite the Justice Department's opinion that it unconstitutionally intrudes on presidential power.

U.S. District Judge John Bates sided with groups representing historians, transparency advocates and journalists, granting a preliminary injunction that essentially voids the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel opinion last month, ruling the 1978 statute is likely constitutional.

Bates noted that the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel's opinion relied on a “stark misreading” of Supreme Court precedent and rejected the DOJ's argument that the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional because presidential papers were considered personal property of the president until the 1970s.

“The original public meaning of the text of the Constitution, canons of interpretation, Supreme Court precedent, general principles of property law, and almost 50 years of practice confirm that Congress has the enumerated power to regulate presidential records under the [Constitution’s] Property Clause,” Bates wrote.

The Presidential Records Act establishes that all records created or received by the president and vice president during their term are the property of the United States government and will be turned over to the National Archives at the end of the administration.

The judge’s order is set to take effect May 26, giving the Trump administration less than a week to appeal the case.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.