Donald Trump's newly launched presidential library has stated it cannot locate a single direct message sent by the president from his Twitter account, despite his prolific tweeting during his first term. The response came in answer to a Freedom of Information Act request from The Washington Post.
The library's admission follows several lawsuits challenging a policy memo from the Trump administration arguing that it does not need to comply with the Presidential Records Act. The response also appears to contradict Twitter's own testimony that the president sent or received at least 32 direct messages in the months before the 2020 election and the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021.
The library, operating under the National Archives and Records Administration, told The Post it was 'unable to locate any records related to' any direct message sent by Trump during his first term. In April, the Department of Justice unilaterally determined that the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional, claiming it threatens the 'constitutional independence and autonomy' of the president. A federal judge has since blocked the destruction of any presidential or vice-presidential records while legal challenges continue.
The Presidential Records Act of 1978, enacted after Richard Nixon's attempts to destroy his records, requires all presidential records to be preserved and eventually transferred to the National Archives. Trump has not yet built a physical library; he has proposed a skyscraper in Miami, Florida, featuring a gold escalator and a statue of the president raising his arm.
