Two Trump moves last week could kill off future accountability for his deeds | Jan-Werner Muller

"The legal opinion authored by a jurist heavily involved in attempts to overturn the 2020 election leaves Trump free to destroy evidence of wrongdoing."

"T Elliot Gaiser asserted that Congress had no right to ask the president to preserve records; the imperative to create and keep documents served no legislative purpose."

"The act had been crafted in the wake of the misdeeds of Richard Nixon, who had wanted discretion over which of his tapes and papers to destroy."

"This reflects a broader strategy to avoid political accountability and historical transparency, reminiscent of past efforts to obscure presidential misdeeds."

The Trump administration issued a legal opinion declaring the 1978 Presidential Records Act unconstitutional, allowing Trump to destroy evidence of wrongdoing. This opinion, authored by T Elliot Gaiser, claims Congress cannot mandate record preservation, undermining accountability. The administration also unveiled plans for a presidential library in Miami, which appears more like a hotel complex. This reflects a broader strategy to avoid political accountability and historical transparency, reminiscent of past efforts to obscure presidential misdeeds, particularly those of Richard Nixon.

Read at www.theguardian.com