“It could be a coincidence, but within a week of the Aug. 8 investigation at Mar-a-Lago, a lot more started coming in,” said a source familiar with the discussions.
The records Meadows turned over to the Archives were not classified, and the situation is distinctly different from the Archives’ efforts to recover federal records from Trump and his referral to the Justice Department earlier this year when classified material was discovered among the documents he retrieved the service. Mar-a-Lago.
The source familiar with the discussions said the Archives thought Meadows was cooperating, even though the process started late.
“That’s how it’s supposed to work,” the source added, saying it wasn’t the kind of situation to be referred to the Justice Department.
Another person familiar with the matter said the FBI’s investigation into Mar-a-Lago had nothing to do with Meadows’ decision to turn over the material to the Archives, as it was a separate discussion.
But it’s a difficult position for Trump’s former chief of staff to be in, as Meadows has also been involved in efforts to get Trump to return documents to the National Archives since last year, sources tell CNN. Meadows is one of Trump’s nominees to the Archives and became involved in the summer of 2021 after being contacted by another candidate, former Trump deputy White House counsel Pat Philbin.
While at Mar-a-Lago last summer, Meadows spoke with Trump about the documents he was requesting the Archives return, sources said. Meadows has continued to work with the Archives in its efforts to recover documents since then, according to the sources.
A spokesman for Meadows declined to comment. The National Archives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meadows’ engagement with the Archives and his discussions with Trump underscore the long-standing efforts by the Archives to recover federal records from Trump that led to the FBI’s unprecedented search of the former President’s residence last month.
Trump turned over 15 boxes of documents to the Archives in January, but additional classified documents remained at Mar-a-Lago. Federal investigators tried to turn over those documents in June through a subpoena and obtained a search warrant last month after developing evidence that not all classified material had been provided.
The Justice Department said in unsealed court filings Friday that the FBI recovered more than 100 classified documents — including 18 with “top secret” markings — from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort during the 8 August, along with more than 11,000 mismatches. government documents, press clippings, gifts and clothing.
The Washington Post first reported Meadows had turned over material to the Archives last month.
In recent months, Trump has been advised to cut off contacts with Meadows, whose actions before and on the day of the attack on the US Capitol were scrutinized by the House panel investigating Jan. 6, sources said. A source close to Trump said that while the former President has not completely cut ties with Meadows, Trump has complained about Meadows in conversations with other allies.
“Their relationship is not the same as it once was” while serving in the White House, the source told CNN.
The Archives’ engagement with Meadows over electronic communications in his possession began when it realized the Jan. 6 panel had obtained records the Archives did not have and believed fell under the Presidential Records Act. CNN reported earlier this year the content of more than 2,300 text messages that Meadows selectively provided to the House panel in the period between Election Day 2020 and the inauguration of President Joe Biden.
In addition to the text messages, Meadows also recently provided the Archives with about a dozen emails, a source said.
“It’s a category of communication that was on a personal device, but you’re supposed to hand it over,” the source said. “He had an obligation to ensure that PRA materials were preserved and delivered.”
Discussions between the Archives and Meadows have been going on for some time, and several months passed between the initial contact and the first batch being provided, according to a source.
In recent weeks, Meadows’ lawyers arranged to turn over material to the Archives that Meadows had already shared with Congress for the Jan. 6 select committee investigation. Meadows has agreed to provide the material to the Archives, although his legal team has argued that it believes it is not subject to the Presidential Records Act.
After the Archives submitted their request, Meadows and his lawyers went through his communications and turned over what they believed was covered by the Presidential Records Act, a source said. The law has carve-outs detailing material that does not have to be provided to the Archives, such as messages that were primarily personal or political in nature.
