US National Archives requests a legal investigation into Donald Trump: Report

In a request to the Justice Department, the US National Archives, which manages the preservation of presidential documents, reportedly called for an investigation into President Donald Trump's handling of official documents, reported The Washington Post on Wednesday.

Trump has been in the news in the past few weeks for improperly handling official documents, and on Monday, the National Archives confirmed it had recovered 15 boxes of documents from Trump's Florida estate that he had taken with him when he left Washington.

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The documents include official correspondence with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, as well as a letter Trump's predecessor, former President Barack Obama left for him in the Oval Office.

The Justice Department had only held preliminary talks about the matter, the Post reported, citing two anonymous sources familiar with the issue. It is yet unclear whether or not the department would respond and act on the request.

US presidents are required to turn over all their emails, letters, and other work documents to the National Archives under the 1978 Presidential Records Act (PRA), which was passed in the wake of the Watergate scandal.

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The government agency confirmed last week that Trump had a habit of ripping up documents, which is prohibited by the PRA, and that a number of documents had needed to be taped together again.

There has been a feud between Trump and the National Archives, which he unsuccessfully sued in an attempt to block the transfer of White House documents to a congressional committee researching the January 6, 2021 riot on the US Capitol.

(With inputs from agencies)