The National Archives recently recovered a map that former president Donald Trump allegedly drew with a black sharpie marker to show the track of hurricane Dorian heading towards Alabama in 2019, among other boxes of paperwork that he had transported to his residence at Mar-a-Lago.
The former president drew criticism for inaccurately warning that Alabama could get hit by the hurricane, contradicting the government weather forecast.
Mr Trump handed over 15 boxes of official documents, letters, gifts and mementoes after the Supreme Court ruled he could not use executive privilege to block the National Archives from handing them to the committee investigating the 6 January Capitol riots.
Apart from the map, other items in the boxes included reams of news clips printed out for him and at least one item of clothing, The New York Times reported.
Communication, dubbed "love letters” by the press, between the former president and North Korean chief Kim Jong-un, were also recovered from the boxes.
According to people familiar with the process of returning the boxes, the items were taken in haste from the White House residence after Mr Trump spent a considerable amount of time of the presidential transition trying to find ways to stay in power.
The recovered items raise concerns about Mr Trump’s potential violation of the Presidential Records Act, which requires administrations to preserve almost all documentation produced and circulated during a president’s time in office.
The National Archives on Monday accused him of improperly removing records from the White House that should have been legally handed over to the agency.
"The Presidential Records Act is critical to our democracy, in which the government is held accountable by the people. There should be no question as to the need for both diligence and vigilance. Records matter," archivist David Ferriero said in a statement.
The National Archives said that the former president’s team “have informed NARA that they are continuing to search for additional Presidential records".
Earlier in January, the National Archives said that among the documents that Mr Trump sought to block from handing over to the investigating committee were ones that he had ripped apart, which had to be tapped by its staff.
Mr Trump has unsuccessfully cited the legal principle in court many times as a means of keeping his affairs hidden from scrutiny. However, president Joe Biden has declined to extend the privilege to the records his predecessor is sensitive about.
