Clemency, Pardon Requests Among Docs Trump Wants to Keep Mar-a-Lago was raided by the FBI in August. (Lynne Sladky/AP)
By Eric Mack | Thursday, 20 October 2022 10:18 PM EDT
Former President Donald Trump is seeking to keep clemency and pardon requests as personal property, The New York Times reported.
Trump is arguing nine documents sought by the National Archives are his personal property, but the Justice Department is seeking to secure those documents, according to a letter to special master Raymond Dearie, who is overseeing a review of the materials.
Trump is claiming executive privilege over the documents and the Justice Department letter to Dearie on Thursday put that under dispute.
Among the documents were six packages seeking requests for clemency or pardons, two documents regarding immigration policy, and an email addressed to him from a person at a military academy, according to the Times report.
The DOJ cited the Presidential Records Act in denying those documents can be kept by Trump instead of being turned over to the National Archives.
"Those requests were received by plaintiff in his capacity as the official with authority to grant reprieves and pardons, not in his personal capacity," the DOJ letter claimed.