Latest news with #NARA
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
DOJ dismisses Biden-era records lawsuit against Peter Navarro
The Justice Department on Tuesday agreed to dismiss a lawsuit seeking records from White House senior trade adviser Peter Navarro's time in the first Trump administration, brought during President Biden's presidency. In a short notice, government lawyers stipulated to the dismissal of the 2022 lawsuit seeking emails Navarro sent from a personal encrypted account but refused to produce to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). They agreed to dismiss the action with prejudice, meaning the claim can't be brought again. The court filing gave no explanation for the decision. The Presidential Records Act requires any records generated or received while working in an official capacity — including those sent or received on unofficial accounts — be turned over at the end of an administration. A federal judge ruled against Navarro and ordered him to turn over the records. Then, a three-judge panel on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals found 'no public interest' in his retention of the records. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who oversaw the case, threatened in February 2024 to hold Navarro in contempt of court for defying her order to turn over the documents. He appealed to the Supreme Court, but the justices in December ultimately declined to weigh his bid to reverse the order. In Navarro's petition to the justices, he argued he initially planned to comply with NARA's request but later sought immunity to produce the documents after he was criminally charged for evading a congressional subpoena. Navarro was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress in 2023 for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. He was sentenced to four months in prison, which he completed in July. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
7 days ago
- Business
- The Hill
DOJ dismisses Biden-era records lawsuit against Peter Navarro
The Justice Department on Tuesday agreed to dismiss a lawsuit seeking records from White House senior trade adviser Peter Navarro's time in the first Trump administration, brought during President Biden's presidency. In a short notice, government lawyers stipulated to the dismissal of the 2022 lawsuit seeking emails Navarro sent from a personal encrypted account but refused to produce to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). They agreed to dismiss the action with prejudice, meaning the claim can't be brought again. The court filing gave no explanation for the decision. The Presidential Records Act requires any records generated or received while working in an official capacity — including those sent or received on unofficial accounts — be turned over at the end of an administration. A federal judge ruled against Navarro and ordered him to turn over the records. Then, a three-judge panel on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals found 'no public interest' in his retention of the records. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who oversaw the case, threatened in February 2024 to hold Navarro in contempt of court for defying her order to turn over the documents. He appealed to the Supreme Court, but the justices in December ultimately declined to weigh his bid to reverse the order. In Navarro's petition to the justices, he argued he initially planned to comply with NARA's request but later sought immunity to produce the documents after he was criminally charged for evading a congressional subpoena. Navarro was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress in 2023 for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. He was sentenced to four months in prison, which he completed in July.
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Marco Rubio's snappy response after Trump gave him four major administration jobs
Secretary of State Marco Rubio poked fun at his unprecedented number of important and high profile positions within President Donald Trump 's administration. Beyond running the entire State Department, the former senator was most recently appointed as Acting National Security Advisor when Mike Waltz vacated the post as he was reassigned as nominee for Ambassador to the United Nations. Rubio, speaking at the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute Gala on Wednesday evening, listed his job as he made jokes about how he was single-handedly helping improve efficiency within the federal government. 'When I joined the administration, early on they said, you know, one of the initiatives we are pursuing is to increase efficiency in government,' Rubio said in his remarks. 'In essence they want to be able to do more while, you know, spending less.' 'And for example, they said, one of the things we want you to look at is consolidation. Can you take, for example, what today are four jobs and give them all to one person? And I said, that sounds like a great idea, let's do that across the government,' Rubio recalled. 'Little did I know they just meant me,' he concluded in hitting the punch line. Beyond leading the State Department and acting as NSA, Rubio is also the Acting Archivist of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and acting Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He got the NSA job after Waltz was ousted following a scandal where he seems to mistakenly add a journalist to a group chat discussing with other Cabinet officials attack plans on a Houthi target earlier this year. Waltz is now nominated to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, a position that some say is a demotion but Trump says he would prefer over NSA. Rubio jabbed on Wednesday night that he was gunning for a fifth position – U.S. Surgeon General. 'It's always flattering to receive an award and be recognized,' he said before listing positions he has or is holding. 'You were Speaker, you were a member of the Senate, you were the chairman of this – you're now secretary of state, and National Security Adviser, and the acting archivist, and the acting USAID director,' he said to laughs. 'And the surgeon general, no I'm kidding, I'm not that,' Rubio added, before admitting: 'I wanted it, I wanted it, you get a uniform. Did you know you get a uniform if you're the Surgeon General?' 'I wanted it, but they'd given it away. You know what'd be good? Library of Congress, that'd be a good job.' Trump this week nominated Casey Means to be Surgeon General after he pulled his pick Janette Nesheiwat. Nesheiwat's credentials came into question last month after CBS News reported she graduated from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine rather than the University of Arkansas School of Medicine. Means is a physician and chronic disease entrepreneur with close ties to the Make America Healthy Again (MAGA) movement.
The Hill
22-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump team's Signal use back in spotlight
Earlier this week, The New York Times published a bombshell report stating Hegseth shared the same attack plans he had disclosed on an earlier reported Signal chat with his wife, Jennifer Hegseth, who is a former Fox News producer and is not employed by the Defense Department — and about a dozen other people from his personal and professional inner circle. The report came less than a month after The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed he was included in a Signal group chat with more than a dozen top Trump administration officials. The administration officials, according to Goldberg, used the chat to discuss plans for airstrikes on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen hours before they were launched. The Atlantic piece put Signal, a messaging service offering end-to-end encryption, under the spotlight as cybersecurity experts weighed the risks of using a third party app for sensitive information. The story also raised broader questions about which platforms government officials are permitted to use and the cybersecurity measures in place for potential information breaches. The Trump administration fiercely defended Hegseth and his leadership on Monday. In the wake of the latest news, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) asked the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to investigate Trump administration officials' use of Signal and other third-party messaging applications. Schiff, a frequent critic of President Trump, urged NARA to make sure the messages sent over the encrypted messaging app by Trump officials are preserved and warned that, apart from national security concerns, utilizing Signal 'creates profound risk of non-compliance with document preservation.' 'I write to request that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) take immediate action to preserve records and pursue remedial measures in connection with the use of Signal and other commercial messaging applications and email by Trump Administration Officials,' Schiff wrote in a four-page letter. Schiff warned in the letter that in 'addition to the national security risks, the use of messaging applications like Signal creates profound risk of non-compliance with document preservation requirements because they allow users to create settings to automatically delete messages.'
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Schiff asks National Archives to investigate Trump officials' Signal use
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) asked the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to investigate Trump administration officials' use of Signal and other third-party messaging applications. Schiff, a frequent critic of President Trump, urged NARA to make sure the messages sent over the encrypted messaging app by Trump officials are preserved and warned that, apart from national security concerns, utilizing Signal 'creates profound risk of non-compliance with document preservation.' 'I write to request that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) take immediate action to preserve records and pursue remedial measures in connection with the use of Signal and other commercial messaging applications and email by Trump Administration Officials,' Schiff wrote in a four-page Monday letter. 'It is imperative that NARA contact each federal agency with personnel involved in the Signal conversations to ensure that all records have been preserved,' the first-term California senator said in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is the acting archivist of the U.S. 'NARA must exercise its authority to investigate whether each of the individuals included in the groups forwarded the entirety of the Signal exchange to their official government accounts and preserved the records prior to their auto-deletion, as is required by law for recordkeeping purposes,' the Democrat lawmaker added. The Hill has reached out to NARA for comment. The letter came just a day after The New York Times detailed that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared information about March strikes against Houthis in Yemen in a Signal chat that included his wife, personal lawyer and brother. Trump and other MAGA allies stood in Hegseth's defense on Monday, and the Defense chief criticized the media when asked about The Times's report. 'What a big surprise that a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out from the same media that peddled the Russia hoax,' Hegseth told reporters. Hegseth also shared information about the forthcoming attack plans versus the Houthi rebels in a Signal chat with top Trump administration officials. The revelation came after national security adviser Mike Waltz inadvertently added The Atlantic's top editor, who subsequently published two articles about the development last month. Earlier this month, the Defense Department's (DOD) acting inspector general Steven Stebbins, launched a probe into Hegseth's use of Signal, looking into whether he 'complied with DOD policies' regarding the thread that had more than a dozen top Trump officials. Schiff warned in the letter that in 'addition to the national security risks, the use of messaging applications like Signal creates profound risk of non-compliance with document preservation requirements because they allow users to create settings to automatically delete messages.' 'I urge NARA to immediately begin a thorough investigation into the existence of all Signal, Gmail, and commercial messaging-related communications involving cabinet members and other senior officials and whether records have been adequately preserved,' the senator wrote. 'As part of this investigation, NARA should review whether there are appropriate policies, practices, and procedures at each agency with respect to the lawful utilization of Signal and other commercial messaging services,' Schiff continued. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
