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A federal judge has ordered top White House officials to preserve presidential records
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rejecting the Trump administration's position that the Presidential Records Act does not apply
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The ruling requires most White House staff and top advisers to save text messages and other
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official communications under the Presidential Records Act. The order applies to White House
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Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Stephen Miller, the National Security Council, and other staff inside
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the executive office of the president. President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance are not covered
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by the directive. Judge John Bates wrote that the law is likely constitutional, rejecting the
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administration's argument that the White House could set aside parts of the law. Quote, while
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the presidency is a singularly important institution, that gravity does not free it from modest
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constraint. Congress has validly determined that this act helps to maintain that trust
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by shining some light on the activities of the president and his aides. The White House
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indicated it plans to keep fighting the case and said it believes it will ultimately win in court
