Obama-Era Order May Have Allowed Trump to Retain Documents
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Obama created a secret executive action in 2014 that gave presidents broad control over data they access, which may authorize Trump's retention of records.
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If this order still existed for Trump, records he had were arguably presidential records, not federal records, so laws on federal record tampering may not apply.
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Evidence shows Obama White House stored data with DOD but still deemed it presidential records, further indicating wide presidential records control.
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If Mar-a-Lago records came from this Obama-era system, Trump was likely authorized to have them and lacked criminal intent.
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The Justice Department may have had an obligation to determine if Trump records originated in this Obama system and disclose that to Trump's defense.