That appears to be the intended destination of what look like torn-up presidential documents in photographs released by reporter Maggie Haberman to the news publication Axios, which published them on Aug. 8, 2022.

Haberman has a book coming out on former President Donald Trump in early October. One photo, allegedly of a White House toilet, shows a scrap of paper with what Haberman says is Trump’s handwriting on it, sitting at the bottom of the toilet bowl. The other photo, of a different toilet allegedly used on an overseas trip, has several scraps of paper similarly situated, with the name of a Republican congresswoman written on one piece.

This could be the first visual documentation of Trump’s already-reported habit of flushing documents down a White House toilet. In response, Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich told Axios, “You have to be pretty desperate to sell books if pictures of paper in a toilet bowl is part of your promotional plan.”

But even without having to unclog plumbing in search of missing papers, national archivists have their work cut out trying to plug potential gaps in the 45th president’s historical record.

On Feb. 7, 2022, it emerged that 15 boxes of documents and other items that should have been handed over to the National Archives and Record Administration had been found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.

Trump says he was told that he was under “no obligation” to hand over the documents, but the law suggests he may be mistaken.

Specifically, Section 2071 of Title 18 of U.S. Code states that anyone who “willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys” records or documents filed in any public office can be fined or imprisoned for up to three years.

It’s deemed a more serious crime if documents are classified, where a penalty of up to five years imprisonment can apply.

In both cases, those held responsible are disqualified from holding any office in the United States.

Read more: https://theconversation.com/new-photos-suggest-how-trump-flush-with-power-may-have-sent-official-documents-down-the-toilet-188423