Trump Can Be Imprisoned For Flushing Classified Documents Down Toilet: Speier

Former President Donald Trump could face time in prison if claims that he flushed classified documents down the toilet are proven to be true, a lawmaker said.

In an interview on ABC News, Rep. Jackie Speier, D-CA, discussed the possibility of Trump being prosecuted after he allegedly clogged a toilet in his White House residence with wads of printed paper believed to be important documents.

“You do not flush papers down a toilet unless you have something to hide. I think it shows intent. He is going to be subject to the Presidential Records Act. There are fines associated with that. It can also entail serving time,” Speier said.

“This wasn’t done by mistake. This was done intentionally.”

The Presidential Records Act, enacted in 1978, requires the White House to preserve all written communications related to the president’s duties. The records would then be surrendered to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) at the end of the term.

Trump on Thursday denied he flushed documents down the toilet — a claim made by Maggie Haberman, a New York Times White House correspondent, in her new upcoming book “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America.”

"Another fake story, that I flushed papers and documents down a White House toilet, is categorically untrue and simply made up by a reporter in order to get publicity for a mostly fictitious book," Trump said in a statement posted on his Save America PAC.

The news of Trump flushing papers down the toilet comes as the National Archives and Records Administration asked Justice Department to investigate the former president’s handling of White House documents and records.

The referral came after NARA officials retrieved 15 boxes of papers from Trump’s private residence in his Mar-a-Lago resort. The former president also had a habit of tearing up documents that had to be taped back together by White House records management officials.

The discussion between the NARA and the Justice Department remained preliminary. It is unclear whether the department would launch a probe, two people familiar with the conversations told The Washington Post.