Former President Donald Trump would rip up documents and throw them on the floor after reading them, a former White House valet told the January 6 House committee.
His testimony points to possible document destruction by Trump when he was still president. It is illegal under the Presidential Records Act for a president to destroy official records as the form part of the national archive. Trump is already awaiting trial on charges of hoarding presidential documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
In newly released and heavily redacted testimony, the employee told the committee on June 10, 2022, that Trump habitually destroyed documents after reading them. When a committee member asked: "Do you remember the president ever tearing up or destroying documents that he had seen?" the employee replied: "That's typically what he would do once he's finished with a document. He would tear everything, tear newspapers, tear photos."
He added: "He liked to look at pictures and he would just tear it once he's done looking at it and just throw it on the floor."
He told the committee that he didn't remember Trump destroying any documents on January 6, 2021 the day Trump supporters invaded the Capitol building.
The employee's testimony gives insight into the Trump presidency. He also testified about Trump's daily habits, Trump's attitude to various White House employees and his actions on January 6.
He told the committee that he was always concerned when the White House legal counsel would show up at the Oval Office to talk to the president because it always made Trump "frustrated" and "mad."
Other parts of the employee's description have been redacted. Many pages are completely redacted with long black lines while other pages are partially redacted.
His evidence was part of an 18-month investigation by the congressional January 6 committee, which interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses.
The committee's investigation focused on Trump's actions leading up to and during the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, when a group of his supporters tried to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's win in the 2020 presidential election.
The committee's report led Special Counsel Jack Smith to investigate Trump for election interference and he was indicted on four felony counts. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Newsweek sought email comment from Trump's attorney on Friday.
Separately, Trump is facing 40 federal charges over allegations he retained classified papers after leaving the White House in January 2021 and then obstructed efforts by the relevant authorities to have them returned.
In August 2022, Trump's Mar-a-Lago private members club was raided by federal agents who recovered large numbers of classified papers. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and strongly denies any wrongdoing.
Update 03/25/24 04:28 a.m ET: This article was updated to clarify the date of the January 6 riot.
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Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more
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