Uploaded December 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Puffs of smoke rise from a White House Chimney two day after the 2020 election. The billowing white smoke came in irregular puffs as if someone were feeding the fire with sheafs of paper rather then a steady blaze from seasoned logs. This was recorded Nov 5, 2020, at around 9:45 pm. The outside temperture was aroud 50 degrees. That same day Trump declared himself the winner and would fight until the end. Outside the White House along along Black Lives Plaza 16the and H Steet and Lafayette Square, a steady stream of celebratory demonstrators were playing mustic and partying.
In every Presidential transition, the President and staff decide which Presidential Materials will be preserved as a Presidential Record and which materials will be destroyed. The designation of "material" is a term of art in records management. It designates a pre-records status. if the material rises to the level of a Record, meaning it was used in the governing process, it falls under a Records Schedule. The Record must be preserved and scheduled as either a Presidential or Federal Record. That record might stay at the White House - informing the incoming administration of actions and decisions, or returned to the originating agency or sent to the Presidential Library, which is under the authority of the National Archives. The higher up the chain of command, the more important it is to maintain those records. Materials designated as non-Federal or non-Presidential records - may include private and personal materials. Hillary Clinton had staff go through her e-mail files and permanently delete (acid wash) what was claimed to be her personal and private messages. Ironically, Mark Meadows, while a Congressperson - before becoming Trump's Chief of staff, was chairman of a key government oversight subcommittee, introduced a bill to punish officials who destroy records. "If an agency head or the U.S. archivist believes records have been taken from an agency illicitly, they would be obligated to work with the attorney general to retrieve the records." (footnote 1) The same goes for Presidential Records. The Archives initiated the Mar-a-Lago Club raid to retrieve Federal and Presidential Records.
The problem with all of this, despite the records laws, is that while in still in office, the material originator or agency or presidential office gets to decide what to keep and what to destroy. The Archives can advise and issue record-keeping reminders but can't effectively enforcement is beyond their capabilities.
Back to the White House Fireplaces, normally textual (paper records) are placed in "burn bags" to be carried off by staff and placed in an industrial shredder. Fireplace burnings would likely be materials not trusted for routine record scrutiny. The outside temperature at the time this was recorded was around 50 degrees F.
1) "Meadows Bill Puts Teeth In Records Enforcement". FCW, 2016,
fcw.com/2016/07/meadows-bill-puts-teeth-in-records-enforcement/220276/.
Accessed 29 Dec 2022.
Puffs of smoke rise from a White House Chimney two day after the 2020 election. The billowing white smoke came in irregular puffs as if someone were feeding the fire with sheafs of paper rather then a steady blaze from seasoned logs. This was recorded Nov 5, 2020, at around 9:45 pm. The outside temperture was aroud 50 degrees. That same day Trump declared himself the winner and would fight until the end. Outside the White House along along Black Lives Plaza 16the and H Steet and Lafayette Square, a steady stream of celebratory demonstrators were playing mustic and partying.
In every Presidential transition, the President and staff decide which Presidential Materials will be preserved as a Presidential Record and which materials will be destroyed. The designation of "material" is a term of art in records management. It designates a pre-records status. if the material rises to the level of a Record, meaning it was used in the governing process, it falls under a Records Schedule. The Record must be preserved and scheduled as either a Presidential or Federal Record. That record might stay at the White House - informing the incoming administration of actions and decisions, or returned to the originating agency or sent to the Presidential Library, which is under the authority of the National Archives. The higher up the chain of command, the more important it is to maintain those records. Materials designated as non-Federal or non-Presidential records - may include private and personal materials. Hillary Clinton had staff go through her e-mail files and permanently delete (acid wash) what was claimed to be her personal and private messages. Ironically, Mark Meadows, while a Congressperson - before becoming Trump's Chief of staff, was chairman of a key government oversight subcommittee, introduced a bill to punish officials who destroy records. "If an agency head or the U.S. archivist believes records have been taken from an agency illicitly, they would be obligated to work with the attorney general to retrieve the records." (footnote 1) The same goes for Presidential Records. The Archives initiated the Mar-a-Lago Club raid to retrieve Federal and Presidential Records.
The problem with all of this, despite the records laws, is that while in still in office, the material originator or agency or presidential office gets to decide what to keep and what to destroy. The Archives can advise and issue record-keeping reminders but can't effectively enforcement is beyond their capabilities.
Back to the White House Fireplaces, normally textual (paper records) are placed in "burn bags" to be carried off by staff and placed in an industrial shredder. Fireplace burnings would likely be materials not trusted for routine record scrutiny. The outside temperature at the time this was recorded was around 50 degrees F.
1) "Meadows Bill Puts Teeth In Records Enforcement". FCW, 2016,
fcw.com/2016/07/meadows-bill-puts-teeth-in-records-enforcement/220276/.
Accessed 29 Dec 2022.
