The Presidential Records Act

WSJ No basis for search?

The Presidential Records Act is actually somewhat different than I thought it was. Now I understand why Obama could have his records in Chicago. Presidential records belong to the Archives, but they need not be in their actual possession. That’s why Obama’s can be in Chicago supervised by NARA but not actually at the NARA facility.

Two Constituional lawyers explain why Trump couldlegally have those records in his possession for several years.

It’s worth reading to understand the issue better, and explains why the FBI went to a magistrate instead of a real Federal Judge who would not have been fooled.,

Speculation

Biden’s administration claims he knew nothing in advance of the FBI raid on Mar A Lago. On the off chance that this is not a lie, then why would the FBI do something so controversial without running it past the boss?

It may well be that the FBI is covering its own tracks independent of Biden. It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.

In Oct 2020, Trump declassified the Crossfire Hurricane and Russia Collusion hoax papers, subject to redactions the FBI requested in Jan 2020. In Dec 2020 he ordered the DOJ to produce a redacted version and to release it to the public.

At the time he left office, that had not been done and remains undone to this day. The FBI does not want those papers to see the light of day. The Biden administration likely agrees.

It may well be that the purpose of the raid was to recover the unclassified but unredacted copy of those documents in Trumps possession to prevent him from releasing it prior to the 2022 elections.