RTH10260 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 06, 2022 5:36 pm
MN-Skeptic wrote: ↑Sun Feb 06, 2022 2:12 pm
Trump’s destruction of documents is his personal version of a Non-Disclosure Agreement. He doesn’t want people reporting the awful things he does. He doesn’t want a paper trail revealing what he has done. He always denies what reflects badly on him. It really doesn’t matter if there are witnesses or physical evidence. He’ll still resort to gaslighting. It’s just easier if there’s no physical evidence to ignore or to declare fake.
The paper destruction was nothing new when he entered the WH. That was how he operated as CEO and manager of the TrumpOrg for years.
But I also believe this is genererally considered some sort of "best practice" at the level of the CEO and others of top level management: don't leave behind notes that may end up in a landfill and be found anywhere from the waste basket to the final destination by snooping noses, lawers and competitors. Though more common is the use of a mechnical paper shredder in place of the CEO.
For the CEO of a non-governmental organization, to tear up documents may, indeed, be a "best practice".
A long time ago, I worked for a company that sold computer-output-microfilm equipment. Some of my customers were corporations large enough to have professional, full-time records managers. One of them once told me that there is no upside to keeping a document that you don't need. Some documents are required to be kept, by law, others by business necessity. If you have documents that don't fall into either category, they can be still subpeonaed. If you don't have them and are not required to have them, there is no issue. If you have them, you can be forced to give them to a court. If a court asks for them and you then destroy them, that can be a major legal problem, even though you weren't required to have them in the first place. That is why Dominion sent letters to Rudy, Sydney, et all, telling them to preserve documents. So, this record manager's recommendation was to absolutely destroy unneeded documents.
However, the Presidency is different. There are specific laws that require that most, if not all, documents, be preserved. Some documents may be considered secret and are not readily available, but they are still preserved for historical reference.
This is just another example of TFG's disdain for the law and his lack of understanding of the nature of the office.