House Democrats’ Litigation Task Force Submits Amicus Brief Defending Watergate-Era Law Protecting the Public’s Right to Presidential Records

Washington, D.C. —  Today, House Democrats’ Litigation Task Force mobilized in support of a legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s unlawful attempt to erase a nearly 50-year-old, bipartisan safeguard for presidential records. The Members of Congress filed an amicus brief in American Historical Association v. Trump, a lawsuit brought by historians seeking to preserve White House papers and electronic messages for the American people.

This action follows the fundamentally flawed April 2026 opinion from the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel which concluded the Presidential Records Act (PRA), a post-Watergate law designed to promote government transparency, is unconstitutional. It marks yet another attempt by the Trump administration to evade restraints on presidential power.

The brief was led by Task Force Co-Chairs Assistant Leader Joe Neguse, Judiciary Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, and Oversight Ranking Member Robert Garcia, as well as House Administration Ranking Member Joe Morelle. It was signed by 106 House Democrats. 

“Each of Congress’s primary purposes for the [Presidential Records Act] was designed to further the public interest,” argued the amicus curiae. “Congress resolved the question of who owns official presidential records in favor of the public; ensured official presidential records would be preserved for and accessible by the public; and facilitated the success of each new President for the benefit of the public the President is popularly elected to serve. If compliance with the Act lapsed, it is the public who would be harmed. And that harm would be both immediate and irreparable.” 

In their filing, the Members of  Congress clearly convey the constitutional authority on which the PRA rests and how the long-standing law serves vital public purposes: preserving our history, ensuring government continuity, and protecting the public’s access to presidential records. They argue that Congress carefully balanced those interests with legitimate presidential prerogatives, and that President Trump’s effort to dismantle this safeguard altogether threatens the public’s right to preserve and understand the nation’s past.

Click HERE to view the full brief. 

Look below to see what the leading lawmakers had to say about the matter: 

“The Presidential Records Act has protected a basic democratic principle for nearly a half-century: all official records of the White House belong to the American people. Now, as part of its continuing desperate attempt to cover up all the outrageous corruption, inside dealing, bribery and incompetence in what remains of the White House, Trump’s servile Justice Department is trying to give ‘the most transparent President ever’ a way to conceal and destroy official records, memos and correspondence establishing the actions of his administration. I’m proud to stand with my colleagues in urging the court to remind the President and his Administration that, in America, public records belong to the public and public officials serve the American people, not the other way around,” said Ranking Member Raskin. 

“Donald Trump continuously abuses the office of the presidency to erode transparency and evade accountability. His latest attempt to erase a decades-old, bipartisan law establishing that presidential records belong to the American public should not just be deemed unlawful — but it should be viewed through the deeply disturbing lens of an administration seeking to rewrite the history of its failed presidency,” said Assistant Leader Joe Neguse.

"Donald Trump wants to shred any and all evidence of his countless corrupt actions, and that's why his DOJ is helping him ignore the Presidential Records Act. President Trump's attempts to play king and duck accountability will not work. We're fighting this in court and will continue defending transparency for the American people," said Ranking Member Garcia.

“The Presidential Records Act protects the American public’s right to their own history. It’s a critical anticorruption and transparency law that preserves access to important records and promotes good government. By illegally attempting to dismantle it, Donald Trump is undermining these protections and avoiding responsibility for a corrupt administration determined to eliminate any restraints on presidential power. We won't let that happen," said Ranking Member Morelle.

Background

The Litigation Task Force launched in the first month that followed President Donald Trump’s chaotic return to office. We immediately set out to push back against an administration showing no respect for the Constitution or rule of law—and we haven’t stopped since. Our first amicus brief, filed in February 2025, defended American consumers from predatory lenders and other bad actors and helped persuade a federal judge to block efforts to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). 

Since then, the Task Force has directly responded to a myriad of other unlawful directives issued by the Trump administration, including simultaneously filing a court motion challenging the legitimacy of the president’s corrupt attempt to “settle” his lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) — an agency he oversees — in exchange for the creation of a $1.7 billion slush fund for political allies. 

For more information on the Litigation Task Force’s efforts to protect Americans against the unlawful actions of the Trump administration, visit litigationandresponse.house.gov.