A justice department opinion arguing the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional could revert the nation to a time when presidents freely burned their papers

Presidential records are the public’s property. The Justice Department wants to change that and revert to a time when presidents could do what they wanted with their papers, including burning them.

By: Austin Sarat, Amherst College, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: April 14, 2026

Words: 1,331

Last Updated: 3 months, 2 weeks ago

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By Austin Sarat, Amherst College

Prior to 1978, U.S. presidents could do what they pleased with the records from their time in office. They owned them.

But in 1978, the Presidential Records Act established new rules for the official records of a president. Passed in the wake of Watergate, when President Richard Nixon tried to keep incriminating materials from being made public, the law changed who legally owned the papers: It was now the American …

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