With the Republican Party appearing to have swept the 2024 election, gaining control of the White House, Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives, Speaker Mike Johnson sent a letter Tuesday to the entire Biden administration informing them to preserve all records and communications.
The letter cited the 118th Congress’ “robust oversight concerning the Biden-Harris Administration’s disastrous border policies, tragic Afghanistan withdrawal, collusion with social media companies to suppress free speech, and weaponization of federal agencies against its political opponents, as well as the antisemitism at our nation’s universities enabled by leading Democrats,” to suggest that the incoming 119th Congress will continue to pursue some of these issues.
Johnson’s office said in a release, “As Washington prepares for the transition of power and the incoming Trump Administration, Speaker Johnson, the House Republican Leadership, and Republican Committee Chairs sent a letter to every Biden-Harris Administration cabinet Secretary demanding they preserve all relevant Department documents and communications.”
“As we begin preparation for a new Trump Administration and new Congress, we fully expect your cooperation in a smooth transition of power. To that end, it is imperative that during the transition you fully comply with all statutory record retention requirements, including but not limited to the Federal Records Act,” the letter reads. “In addition to compliance with federal record retention laws, we are also expressly directing that all necessary steps be taken to preserve relevant Department documents and communications.”
The letter was sent to all Biden Cabinet secretaries and was signed by Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA).
When considering the sham January 6 special committee “deleted records and hid evidence,” according to the GOP, the letter may already be too late.
At least, that’s what some on social media suggest. Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:
It’s a little late for that. They’ve been burning files since the 6th
— Gryphon (@Gryph911) November 12, 2024
I’m sure they’ll pay attention to the letter. (that’s sarcasm). He did nothing when the fake J6 committee destroyed evidence.
— CommonSenseIsn’tCommonAnymore (@DCFanFirst) November 12, 2024
I know during the Biden years Republicans had their hands tied. Garland wasn’t going to charge a Democrat for violating a Congressional order/subpoena, but with a Republican AG there’s no excuse to allow even 1 person to get away with deleting anything. Start making examples.
— Someone Important (@justimportant2) November 12, 2024
It should be a matter of course that ALL records be archived, for reiew by an incoming administration.
Of course, incriminating records will have already been destroyed… the Clinton way.— Phoeli (@sunmynd) November 12, 2024
I have no faith in the agencies to abide by this order and secure official records. They’ll purge documents and evidence of them and it will end up like election fraud cases when they say oh there’s no proof it’s just a conspiracy theory.
— DissocialSpace (@DissocialSpace) November 13, 2024
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