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FBI probe renews focus on Donald Trump's haphazard handling of files

All of a president's official papers, no matter how trivial, are considered public property, not his alone, according to the Presidential Records Act of 1978

Donald Trump
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Photo: Bloomberg

Jennifer Jacobs and Gregory Korte | Bloomberg
Donald Trump had his own way of keeping records during his presidency: heaping documents in boxes, tearing up papers to signal a discussion was over, even flushing some notes down the White House toilet.
 
That unorthodox approach is drawing attention as authorities investigate whether Trump took classified materials from the White House upon leaving office, a probe that escalated with an extraordinary FBI search of his Florida estate on Monday.

All of a president’s official papers, no matter how trivial, are considered public property, not his alone, according to the Presidential Records Act of 1978. When the president