{"id":2686434,"date":"2026-10-17T13:20:59","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T17:20:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-questions-trump-push-to-own-presidential-records\/"},"modified":"2026-10-17T13:25:34","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T17:25:34","slug":"appeals-court-questions-trump-push-to-own-presidential-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-questions-trump-push-to-own-presidential-records\/","title":{"rendered":"Appeals court questions Trump push to own presidential records"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fappeals-court-questions-trump-push-to-own-presidential-records%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2686434&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A federal appeals court is expected to dismiss president Donald Trump\u2019s claim that the Presidential Records Act of 1978 is unconstitutional. trump\u2019s legal team argues that the law is invalid after the DOJ accused him of mishandling classified documents stored at Mar-a-Lago,asserting that presidents historically had control over their records,including selling or giving them away.The Justice Department contends that the law ensures presidential papers are retained by the government to prevent their use against future administrations and to protect national security. Judges, including Obama appointees Patricia Millett and Cornelia Pillard, questioned weather the law&#8217;s validity coudl be challenged, with debates focusing on whether presidential records are private property or government-held. The DOJ previously dropped related charges after Trump\u2019s reelection, citing constitutional issues. The case is part of ongoing legal disputes over the separation of powers and the control of presidential records.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\" aria-labelledby=\"wex-article-title\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A federal appeals <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/courts\/?srsltid=AU7gw4Vkvm-dAk_M8LWuqIglXi3Uvrg-x9zE48gOQZmZs63Yqo94QGGf\">court<\/a> appears likely to dismiss President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/?srsltid=AU7gw4WSoQ_tIRmsMMXX9RbjzAPs3nXVTUeTWjDqouroJOS-XjjqaEgp\">Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> argument that a law ensuring presidential papers are retained by the government is unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump\u2019s legal team has argued that the 1978 Presidential Records Act is illegal after the president was accused of violating the law by storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home. The case continues to play out in a D.C. Circuit court, where a three-judge panel weighed the Justice Department\u2019s arguments on Friday.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<style>.explore-more-section { background: var(--wex-bg); border-top: 1px solid #ffffff; border-bottom: 1px solid #ffffff; margin: 24px 0; margin-top: -20px; }<\/style>\n<style id=\"mos-623aeaf4-3b2a-4517-bf3a-c039ace44fe6-style\">@scope (#mos-623aeaf4-3b2a-4517-bf3a-c039ace44fe6) { .we-meter, .we-meter * {   box-sizing: border-box; }  .we-meter {   --we-red: #DB3745;   --we-red-hover: #c42d3a;   --we-charcoal: #323E48;   --we-blue: #15BEF0;   --we-slate: #85A0AB;   --we-gold: #ECC270;   --we-text: #323E48;   --we-border: #85A0AB;    position: relative;   overflow: hidden;   width: 100%;   max-width: 680px;   margin: 24px auto;   padding: clamp(18px, 3vw, 28px);   border: 1px solid var(--we-border);   border-radius: 12px;   background: #fff;   color: var(--we-text);   font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; 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<\/script>     <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two judges on the panel, who were both appointed by former president Barack Obama, Patricia Millett and Cornelia Pillard, argued that the DOJ\u2019s position could place the country in jeopardy. Federal attorneys argued that since George Washington, American presidents \u201cexercised exclusive control and ownership over their presidential records after leaving office,\u201d even giving them away and selling them, a tradition broken after Watergate, when the DOJ contended Congress exceeded its \u201cconstitutional authority over the President\u201d and violated the separation of powers by giving <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/60minutes\/videos\/why-presidents-are-required-to-return-official-papers-to-the-archives\/905703908088330\/\">the United States<\/a> \u201ccomplete ownership, possession, and control\u201d over presidential records.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCan the president then offer on eBay to sell them, all of our national security secrets to the highest bidder?\u201d Millett pressed back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Presidential Records Act, if unconstitutional, would not be a bar to that,\u201d DOJ attorney John Bailey replied. \u201cConsistent with history and tradition \u2026 the president\u2019s papers belong to the president, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The DOJ argued that leaving official papers in the hands of the government once the president has left office leaves the door open to future administrations weaponizing sensitive information against their political opponents.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf I had to turn over all of my emails and Teams messages to either my current boss or to the person that\u2019s going to replace my boss and fire me, I would probably rather turn that all over to my current boss,\u201d Bailey said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pillard shot back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat is \u2026 such a sad and such a partisan view,\u201d the judge said. \u201cIt\u2019s assuming that the separation of powers doesn\u2019t protect the office of the presidency, but only this president, and it\u2019s just never been the case.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4762808\/judge-order-dhs-halt-taxpayer-funded-ads-featuring-trump\/\">JUDGE ORDERS DHS TO HALT TAXPAYER-FUNDED ADS FEATURING TRUMP<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The DOJ dropped the case targeting Trump\u2019s alleged storing of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after he won reelection. Last year, the Justice Department announced it had <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/olc\/media\/1434131\/dl\">concluded<\/a> that the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional because it violates the separation of powers, triggering a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/americanoversight.org\/press-release\/presidential-records-act-filing-appeals-court\/\">lawsuit<\/a> from a watchdog group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and several other critics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That lawsuit is what is now being debated in court.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Court likely to dismiss Trump\u2019s challenge to presidential records law<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2686435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AP26285774387521.jpg?w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[32324,37612,56207,3634],"class_list":["post-2686434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-appeals-court","tag-legal-challenge","tag-presidential-records","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AP26285774387521.jpg?w=1024","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2686434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2686434"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2686434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2686438,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2686434\/revisions\/2686438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2686435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2686434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2686434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2686434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}