Pelosi's Document Destruction: Lawful Or Not?

In February 2020, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tore up a copy of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address. This action sparked outrage among Republicans, with some, including Trump himself, claiming that Pelosi had broken the law by destroying an official government document. However, legal experts have since confirmed that Pelosi did not violate any laws, as the copy of the speech she tore up was not an official government record and was not filed or deposited with her.

Pelosi's copy of the State of the Union address was personal property, not a government record

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi caused a stir when she tore up a copy of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in February 2020. While some critics, including Trump himself, claimed that Pelosi broke the law by destroying an official government document, legal experts have since confirmed that Pelosi's copy of the speech was not an official document and that she was within her rights to destroy it.

The controversy centres around the interpretation of 18 U.S.C. § 2071, a federal statute that prohibits the destruction of government records. This law states that it is illegal for anyone to "conceal, remove, mutilate, obliterate, or destroy" any government record "filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United States, or in any public office, or with any judicial or public officer of the United States." The statute also applies to anyone with "custody" of a government record, prohibiting them from "willfully and unlawfully" destroying it.

However, legal experts have unanimously concluded that Pelosi's copy of the State of the Union address was not a government record. According to Douglas Cox, a professor of law at the City of New York University School of Law and an expert in the laws governing the preservation of government records, "Her copy of the State of the Union address is not a government record or government property at all, it is personal property." This distinction is crucial, as the statute in question specifically pertains to official government records.

Furthermore, the State of the Union text was never "filed or deposited" with Pelosi, nor did she have "custody" of it in the legal sense. Video footage of the event shows that Trump handed copies of the speech to Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence before beginning his address. This act of handing over the speech is not considered an official deposit of a government record. As Georgetown Law professor Victoria Nourse explains, "the point of the statute is to prevent people from destroying records in official repositories like the National Archives or in courts."

In summary, Pelosi's copy of the State of the Union address was her personal property, and she was well within her rights to destroy it. The federal statute in question, 18 U.S.C. § 2071, specifically pertains to official government records, and Pelosi's copy of the speech does not meet that criteria. As such, claims that Pelosi broke the law by tearing up the speech are unfounded and based on a misapplication of the law.

The copy was not filed or deposited with an official

The copy of the State of the Union address that was ripped up by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was not filed or deposited with an official. It was handed to her by President Donald Trump, who also gave a copy to Vice President Mike Pence, before he began his speech.

Legal experts have weighed in on the matter, explaining that Pelosi did not violate the U.S. Code 18 U.S.C. § 2071, which deals with the "concealment, removal, or mutilation" of government records. The code states that anyone who "willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys" any government record "filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United States, or in any public office, or with any judicial or public officer of the United States" may face fines or imprisonment.

The key phrase here is "filed or deposited with any clerk or officer". Victoria Nourse, a professor of law at Georgetown Law, clarifies that the State of the Union address is not "filed or deposited" officially with the Speaker or Vice President, they simply receive a copy. It is the President's copy that is the official record and is preserved by the National Archive. Pelosi ripped up her own copy, not the official record.

William Eskridge, a professor at Yale Law, agrees, stating that the statute does not criminalize Pelosi's actions as her copy was not an official file. He adds that even if there were ambiguity, a neutral judge would interpret the statute narrowly to avoid conflicting with the First Amendment's protection of expression.

Other legal experts, such as Heidi Kitrosser, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, and Douglas Cox, a professor of law at the City of New York University School of Law, have also weighed in, stating that Pelosi's copy of the speech was not a government record or government property, but rather personal property. They emphasize that members of Congress are not legally required to retain their office's files and are free to keep them private, destroy them, or rip them up.

Therefore, it is clear that Pelosi's actions did not violate the law as her copy of the State of the Union address was not filed or deposited with an official and was not considered an official government document.

The document was not an official government document

There are several reasons why the document that Nancy Pelosi tore up was not an official government document. Firstly, the document was a copy of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address, which he handed to her at the beginning of the session. This action by the President was purely performative and theatrical, and not an official deposit of the document. Secondly, the document was not "filed or deposited" with Pelosi in an official capacity, nor did she have "custody" of it in the legal sense. It was given to her as a personal copy, and she was free to do with it as she pleased. Thirdly, the document that Pelosi tore up was not the only copy of Trump's speech; there were other copies provided to Vice President Mike Pence, members of Congress, and the media. Finally, the official copy of the State of the Union address that is considered a government record is the one that is submitted to the National Archives for preservation as a permanent record. This copy is the one that is prohibited from being destroyed and is the only one that must be kept for safekeeping.

The claims that Pelosi broke the law by tearing up her copy of the State of the Union address are based on a misinterpretation of the relevant code, 18 U.S.C. § 2071, Section 2071 (a). This code deals with the "concealment, removal, or mutilation" of government records and sets penalties for anyone who destroys any government record "filed or deposited" with an official or in a public office. However, as previously stated, the document in question was not filed or deposited with Pelosi in an official capacity, and therefore does not fall under the requirements of this code.

Legal experts have unanimously agreed that Pelosi did not violate the law. Victoria Nourse, a professor of law at Georgetown Law, explained that the State of the Union address is a presidential record that must go to the National Archives under the Presidential Records Act. Pelosi did not mutilate the record that is filed with the Archives, and her action does not fit within the statute's purpose of preventing someone from depriving the government of its documents. Other experts, such as Heidi Kitrosser, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, have also stated that it is absurd to suggest that Pelosi could be prosecuted for destroying her personal copy of the speech.

The document was not the only copy of the speech in existence

The document that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tore up was a copy of President Donald Trump's 2020 State of the Union address. The same copies were also provided to Vice President Mike Pence, members of Congress, and the media.

The copy of the speech that Pelosi destroyed was not an official government document. It was not filed or deposited in a public office of the United States. It was handed to her by President Trump as a memento or act of theatre.

There are probably countless copies of Trump's address, including the version the White House posted online. Pelosi's action does not preclude future generations from accessing one.

Legal experts confirmed that Pelosi did not violate 18 U.S.C. § 2071, which deals with the "concealment, removal, or mutilation" of government records. This is because the copy of the speech was not a government record or government property, and it was not filed or deposited with her, nor did she have "custody" of it in the legal sense.

Therefore, the document that Pelosi tore up was not the only copy of the speech in existence, and her actions did not break the law.

The document was not an official file

The document in question was a copy of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address, which he handed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the beginning of his speech. Pelosi tore up the document at the end of the session, and this act was criticised by Trump and several conservative pundits and politicians, who claimed that she had broken the law by destroying an official government document.

However, legal experts have unanimously stated that Pelosi did not break the law, as the document she destroyed was not an official file. The statute in question, 18 U.S.C. § 2071, deals with the "concealment, removal, or mutilation" of government records and reports. It sets out penalties for anyone who "conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys" any government record "filed or deposited" with a clerk or officer of a court of the United States, or in any public office.

According to Victoria Nourse, a professor of law at Georgetown Law, the point of the statute is to "prevent people from destroying records in official repositories like the National Archives or in courts". Pelosi's copy of the State of the Union address was not a government record or property; it was personal property. This is because the document was never "filed or deposited" with her, nor did she have "custody" of it in the legal sense.

William Eskridge, a professor at Yale Law, confirmed that this is a misinterpretation of the code in question, as the copy of the speech ripped up by Pelosi is not an official file. He stated that "the statute does not criminalize Pelosi’s expressive action of tearing up her copy of the speech. I don't read the statute as targeting destruction of a xerox copy of a document, and even if there were ambiguity any neutral judge would read the statute narrowly, to avoid the clash with the First Amendment’s protection of expression".

Furthermore, under House rules, members of Congress are encouraged to preserve records or donate them to a research institution for historical study, but they are not legally required to do so. They can keep them private, destroy them, or rip them up. This is in contrast to presidential records, which have been considered government property since the Presidential Records Act of 1978 and are supposed to be stored with the National Archives for safekeeping.

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