Representative Crow Joins Colleagues in Op-Ed Demanding Trump Administration Uphold the Federal Records Act and Presidential Records Act
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Crow helped lead an op-ed with nine of his congressional colleagues urging the Trump administration to comply with the Federal Records Act of 1950 (FRA) and the Presidential Records Act of 1978 (PRA). These laws ensure documents, including digital and electronic records, pertaining to the official duties of the President, Vice President, and federal agencies are retained and preserved. In addition to Representatives Sean Casten and Jason Crow, Reps. Jamie Raskin (MD-8), Jim Himes (CT-4), Madeleine Dean (PA-4), Brad Schneider (IL-10), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-5), Jared Huffman (CA-2), and Tom Malinowski (NJ-7) co-authored the op-ed.
With President-elect Biden assuming Office on January 20th, the members stressed the importance of a peaceful transfer of power, including the preservation of documents.
The members said in part,"This is crucial to our democracy and a peaceful transition of power. The FRA and PRA serve and protect the American people--the ones to which those documents belong. Individuals who violate those laws can be subject to criminal penalties or action from the next United States Attorney General. Our challenge in this moment is that the Trump administration has always treated our laws and democratic norms as hinderances rather than sacred obligations.
"Given the pattern of behavior by Donald Trump and his senior officials, we must remain vigilant to ensure all laws are followed, and all documents are preserved during this transition."
To read the full op-ed visit: https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/20/opinions/preserve-all-documents-during-presidential-transition-casten/index.html