Donald Trump Changes His Presidential Records Guardians Ahead of Legal Battle

In a letter written to the National Archives on September 19, 2023, Former American President Donald Trump added two new guards to his army to protect his presidential records. Along with this, he also revoked some from accessing the records.

The two new additions made by Donald are defense lawyers Todd Blanche and Evan Corcoran.

Designation of Representatives:

“With this letter, I designate Todd Blanche, Esq. and M. Evan Corcoran, Esq. as my representatives in all respects that pertain to access to the records of my Presidency,” Trump wrote. 

“This letter supersedes all prior correspondence on this topic in that the representatives named herein are not in addition to, but replace any prior designee.”

While a number of his former advisers- White House lawyers Pat Cipollone, Pat Philbin, Michael Purpura, John Eisenberg, and Scott Gast, as well as Justice Department official Steven Engel, have been revoked access, the surprising removal of his onetime chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Additionally, two new protectors, journalist John Solomon, and former Pentagon aide Kash Patel, had also been added by Donald last year in June 2022 but have now exited the list of his trusted ones.

Presidential Records Handling Under Scrutiny:

All former presidents appoint representatives to work with the Archives on how their presidential papers are handled- to form a presidential library to keep records or facilitate research.

Legal Battle Looms:

While the same is the case in the 2024 GOP candidate’s case, these records are a part of criminal charges against him for handling classified information after he left office.

This change in his team guarding the 77-year-old’s reputation and life is because Donald will face a federal jury in South Florida next year on the above-mentioned charges.

Prosecutor’s Accusations:

Prosecutors have accused the former president of hoarding classified information at his Mar-a-Lago state after he left his position.

In his defense, Donald has stated that he was allowed to hold the documents as they were official “presidential records.”

Evan Corcoran’s Role and Challenges:

Donald’s battle will be fought forefront by Todd; however, his other addition, Evan, might as well have been a key against him.

Prosecutor special council Jack Smith obtained notes and recordings where he kept memorializing his conversations with Donald and featured them in his indictment against the former president.

While Evan did try to protect the notes and recordings in a court in Washington D.C. as attorney-client privilege, he lost the battle.

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