Jonathan Ernst/Reuters; Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters; Marco Bello/Reuters
- The NARA has reportedly reached out to representatives of former presidents and vice presidents.
- NARA wants them to check their records for classified information, according to a letter seen by CNN.
- Reps for Obama, George W. Bush, and Clinton have told Insider they don't have classified documents.
The National Archives and Record Administration has reportedly asked the representatives of former presidents and vice presidents to check their personal records to make sure they do not have any lingering classified documents filed away.
The request comes after classified documents were found in recent months at the homes and offices of President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and former Vice President Mike Pence.
According to CNN, the National Archives on Thursday sent a letter to representatives of past presidents and vice presidents from the last six presidential administrations that the 1978 Presidential Records Act applies to, dating back t0 former President Ronald Reagan.
"The responsibility to comply with the PRA does not diminish after the end of an administration," the letter states, CNN reported.
Representatives for Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton have told Insider that the former presidents all turned over their materials to the National Archives and Records Administration years ago when they left office.
But the National Archives wants them to double check.
The letter, as reported by CNN, states: "Therefore, we request that you conduct an assessment of any materials held outside of NARA that relate to the Administration for which you serve as a designated representative under the PRA, to determine whether bodies of materials previously assumed to be personal in nature might inadvertently contain Presidential or Vice Presidential records subject to the PRA, whether classified or unclassified."
The letter, according to CNN, goes on to say that "while much of the attention of these instances has focused on the classified information, the PRA requires that all Presidential records of every Administration from Reagan onward must be transferred to NARA, regardless of classification status."
The NARA told Insider on Thursday that it had no comment.
The Archives sent the letter to representatives for former Presidents Trump, Obama, George W. Bush, Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, and former Vice Presidents Mike Pence, Biden, Dick Cheney, Al Gore and Dan Quayle, CNN reported.
Former President Jimmy Carter, who served before the law took effect, did not receive the letter, according to CNN. He donated "significant portions" of his documents to the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, but he was not legally required to do so, as his successors were, The Carter Center told Insider.