A former White House aide to President Donald Trump testified to the Jan. 6 House committee that then-President Trump was seen tearing up documents while in office.
According to recorded testimony reported by CBS News, former presidential aide Nick Luna told the panel that while he witnessed the act, he did not see which exact documents Trump tore to pieces.
"Did I ever see him tear up notes? I don't know what the documents were, but there [was] tearing," Luna testified, according to the report.
Questioned by the panel’s senior investigative counsel to clarify if he witnessed Trump destroying documents by tearing them up, the former aide replied, “That’s correct.”
According to federal statutes, a president can destroy documents but must receive permission from the national archives to do so.
The Presidential Records Act states that "any records created or received by the President as part of his constitutional, statutory, or ceremonial duties are the property of the United States government and will be managed by NARA [National Archives and Records Administration] at the end of the administration.”