Maggie Haberman, a reporter for the New York Times and no slouch when it comes to investigative reporting, has released some photos that corroborate a chapter in her new book.
The book, that will be release in October, reports that staffers in the White House often found ripped-up pieces of printed paper clogging the toilet in the White House residence during the administration of former President Donald Trump.
The Presidential Records Act forbids officials, including the president, from destroying any records which relate to carrying out presidential duties.
If Haberman’s claims are proven, the photos would provide further evidence that Mr Trump destroyed or attempted to destroy presidential records that he may have been legally required to preserve and turn over at the end of his administration.
The book is called “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America.”
The photos, which were shared with Axios on Monday, reportedly show small pieces of paper in a toilet in the White House and another from a trip overseas.
“That Mr. Trump was discarding documents this way was not widely known within the West Wing, but some aides were aware of the habit, which he engaged in repeatedly,” Haberman said.
The word about flushing documents down the toilet in the White House because known in February, and will be publicized by Haberman’s book.
A spokesperson for Trump said that toilet stories are a fabrication.
The National Archives, who conserve presidential documents, confirmed that some of the documents it received from the Trump administration had been taped back together after being ripped. It has even been claimed by former aide Omarosa Maginault Newman that Trump
literally chewed up a sensitive document to avoid it becoming public.
