"Following collaborative and respectful discussions, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) openly and willingly arranged with President Trump for the transport of boxes that contained letters, records, newspapers, magazines and various articles ... The media’s characterization of my relationship with NARA is Fake News. It was exactly the opposite!" Trump said in a statement.
He expressed appreciation of the National Archives, adding that it was a great honor to work with them "to help formally preserve the Trump Legacy."
Trump stated that he turned in all papers without conflict and "on a very friendly basis." However, US media misportrayed the process, he argued.
"In fact, it was viewed as routine and 'no big deal.' In actuality, I have been told I was under no obligation to give this material based on various legal rulings that have been made over the years," Trump said.
He further recalled that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton deleted thousands of emails from her server and never returned them to the government.
Trump also dismissed allegations of having flushed documents down a White House toilet as "categorically untrue" and simply made up by a New York Times reporter "in order to get publicity for a 'mostly fictitious book.'"
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing sources, that NARA had asked the Justice Department to conduct an investigation into Trump's handling of White House records. The request followed revelations that the National Archives recovered 15 boxes of documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago last month, which reportedly should have been handed over to the agency when leaving office.