A federal judge has ordered top White House officials in President Donald Trump’s administration to preserve presidential records, including text messages, after the administration argued that a post-Watergate transparency law may be unconstitutional.
US District Judge John Bates issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday requiring White House personnel to comply with the 1978 Presidential Records Act, the law passed in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal that forced President Richard Nixon from office.
The ruling applies to several of Trump’s top aides and offices, including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, the National Security Council and officials inside the Executive Office of the President.
The dispute began after the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel reportedly argued last month that the Presidential Records Act exceeds Congress’ constitutional authority and therefore does not bind White House staff in the way watchdog groups claim.
Three organizations — American Historical Association, American Oversight and Freedom of the Press Foundation — sued the administration seeking to force compliance with the law.
The groups argued there was “strong reason” to believe records could be improperly withheld or retained after Trump leaves office, citing the classified documents controversy involving materials taken to Mar-a-Lago after Trump’s first term.
Judge Bates sharply rejected the administration’s constitutional argument.
“While the presidency is a singularly important institution, that gravity does not free it from modest constraint,” Bates wrote in his 54-page opinion.
He added that every president since Nixon — including Trump during his first term — had complied with the Presidential Records Act for nearly half a century “without complaint.”
Bates even opened the ruling with a quote from George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four: “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.”
The judge argued that eliminating or weakening the records law would undermine Congress’ ability to preserve government accountability and historical transparency, per the Daily Mail.
He also specifically criticized newly issued White House guidance regarding text messages.
According to the ruling, administration guidance suggested staff only needed to preserve texts that served as the “sole record” of official decisions.
Bates warned that under such a standard, “almost no texts would ever be preserved.”
The injunction is scheduled to take effect May 26.
The White House pushed back strongly following the ruling.
Spokeswoman Abigail Jackson insisted Trump remains committed to preserving records and called him “the most transparent and accessible President in history.”
Jackson argued the administration already maintains “a rigorous records retention program” for official materials, emails and electronic records.
She also claimed the ruling “fundamentally misunderstands the Administration’s position” and predicted the White House would ultimately prevail in court.
The legal battle now sets up another major clash between the Trump administration and federal courts over presidential authority, transparency and executive power as Trump’s second term continues to face mounting legal scrutiny.
