Inside Trump’s war on the National Archives; The Washington Post, August 27, 2022

 

Jacqueline Alemany

, 

Isaac Arnsdorf

 and 

Josh Dawsey

, The Washington Post; Inside Trump’s war on the National Archives

“Without the preservation of the records of government, and without access to them, you can’t have an informed population, and without an informed population, you lack one of the basic tools to preserving democracy,” said former acting archivist Trudy Peterson, who expressed concern that Trump’s rhetoric is damaging the public perception of the Archives. “The system won’t work if the neutrality of the National Archives is not protected.”

This portrait of an agency under siege by a former president and his supporters is based on interviews with 14 current and former Archives employees, Trump advisers, historians and others familiar with the escalating dispute, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal internal discussions."