Trump library says no Twitter DMs can be found, despite evidence he sent them; The Washington Post, June 3, 2026

 Nate Jones, The Washington Post; Trump library says no Twitter DMs can be found, despite evidence he sent them

Records show that Trump's first administration opted not to save DMs in its library archives, raising questions about compliance with the Presidential Records Act.

"The newly operational Trump Presidential Library, the entity responsible for preserving records from the White House, says that it cannot find a single Twitter direct message sent by a president who tweeted more than 25,000 times during his first administration.

This no-records response to a Freedom of Information Act request from The Washington Post comes as the Trump administration argues it does not need to follow the Presidential Records Act, a law designed to ensure the public has access to records of the president after he leaves office. 

On Jan. 20, The Washington Post filed a FOIA request with the Trump library for all direct messages sent from the president’s Twitter accounts @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS during his first term."

Public deserves open access; Daily Press, June 10, 2017

Marisa Porto, Daily Press; Public deserves open access

"American writer Walter Lippman once wrote, "The best servants of the people, like the best valets, must whisper unpleasant truths in the master's ear."

His quote describes perfectly the mission of a newspaper and its staff.

That mission remains at the heart of why Americans should be concerned about the state of the Freedom of Information Act around this nation.

This year alone, journalists from my news organization have filed dozens of FOIA requests. The topics they asked about ranged from bus accidents to crime statistics to how millions of dollars of taxpayer money was spent on a private business venture at our local airport. The last request sparked a statewide investigation, prompted a change in state law and has caused the firing of the airport director and the resignation of one top city official — so far...

Playwright Arthur Miller once said, "A good newspaper, I suppose, is a nation talking to itself."

Let's keep the conversation going."