Lawfare: “…In 1950, Congress passed the Federal Records Act, which requires federal agencies—but not the president—to preserve their records. Five years later, Congress passed the Presidential Libraries Act, which encouraged (but did not require) former presidents to donate their records to private, federally maintained libraries.  Then came Richard Nixon. Four months after Nixon resigned in disgrace, Congress—concerned that he would destroy key papers—enacted the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act, which required that the archivist of the United States take into custody all of Nixon’s presidential records…Then in 1978, Congress enacted the Presidential Records Act (PRA), establishing for all time that presidential records belong to the nation the president serves. The act provides that “[t]he United States shall reserve and retain complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records.” While president, the president is responsible for maintaining his records. Upon leaving office, that responsibility passes to the U.S. archivist, who “shall assume responsibility for the custody, control, and preservation of, and access to, the Presidential records of that President.”   The PRA defines presidential records as materials “created or received by the President, the President’s immediate staff, or a unit or individual of the Executive Office of the President whose function is to advise or assist the President, in the course of conducting activities which relate to or have an effect upon the carrying out of the constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President.” The PRA excludes from this definition official agency records, which are covered by the Federal Records Act. The PRA also excludes personal records, which it defines as materials “of a purely private or nonpublic character which do not relate to or have an effect upon the carrying out of the constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President.” …