The Presidential Records Act

Every president generates millions of records in the course of leading the country: memos, emails, speeches, notes, tweets... There are rules for how those records should be treated, both as historical documents, and as public property, enshrined in the Presidential Records Act. What does the Act say, and what does it have to do with how former-President Donald Trump handled government documents after leaving office?

We talk with Trudy Huskamp Peterson, who worked as an archivist for the National Archives for 24 years, including serving as Acting Archivist of the United States from 1993-1995. We also talk with Margaret Kwoka, Professor of Law at Ohio State University and legal expert on information law, government secrecy, and transparency.

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To see Civics 101 in book form, check out A User's Guide to Democracy: How America Works by Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice, featuring illustrations by Tom Toro.

Release date

Lydbog: 1. august 2023