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The National Archives sent a formal request to previous presidents and vice presidents asking them toĀ check for any classified documents or records covered by the Presidential Records Act,Ā CNNĀ reported.
"The responsibility to comply with the PRA does not diminish after the end of an administration," the agency wrote in a letter to representatives of the past six presidential administrations. "Therefore, we request that you conduct an assessment of any materials held outside of NARA that relate to the Administration for which you serve as a designated representative under the PRA, to determine whether bodies of materials previously assumed to be personal in nature might inadvertently contain Presidential or Vice Presidential records subject to the PRA, whether classified or unclassified."
The letter was sent to representatives for former PresidentsĀ Donald Trump,Ā Barack Obama,Ā George W. Bush,Ā Bill Clinton,Ā George H.W. Bush, andĀ Ronald Reagan, and former Vice PresidentsĀ Mike Pence,Ā Joe Biden,Ā Dick Cheney,Ā Al Gore, andĀ Dan Quayle.
Former PresidentĀ Jimmy CarterĀ did not receive a letter becauseĀ he is exempt from the Presidential Records Act, even though he signed it into law.
The request comes after recent discoveries of classified materials in unsecured locations. Over the summer, the FBI uncovered multiple classified documents during aĀ raid at the Mar-a-Lago home of Trump. In November, several classified documents from Biden's time as Vice President were discovered in a private office in Washington, D.C. FurtherĀ searches of Biden's home in DelawareĀ uncovered additional classified documents. Classified documents were also found inĀ Pence's home in Indiana.
After the documents were discovered, Attorney GeneralĀ Merrick GarlandĀ appointed two special prosecutorsĀ to investigate Biden and Trump.