Information recently obtained from the Associated Press shows that White House staff members were given the order to preserve any documents or other materials that have a relation with possible Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election. The order came from the White House legal counsel’s office after a request made by several law enforcement bodies and the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Democrats are concerned that Trump’s associates may have ties to the Russian government that they haven’t been forthcoming about and may seek to destroy or hide information in an effort to hamper any investigations on the topic.
Trump has denied that his administration had any improper contacts with Putin’s government at any point in time, either before or after the election. A spokesman for President Trump has called the accusations false and motivated by a desire for political gains. Many of his opponents refuse to accept these claims, especially as new allegations are emerging. One example of this is National Security Adviser Michael Flynn being forced to resign from his position after it was alleged that he had discussions with the Russian government in which he made a promise to reverse sanctions against the nation once Trump takes power. Flynn initially responded by denying that the topic of sanctions was ever brought up during discussions he had with Russia’s ambassador, yet resigned the moment it was revealed that he did in fact talk about lifting sanctions put in place during the Obama administration.
Members of Trump’s campaign team are now being investigated for having ties to the Kremlin. Details of any promises or covert deals with Russian officials that would be in violation of various laws are yet to be unearthed. But the evidence gathered so far indicates that there were at least a few individuals on Trump’s team who spoke to Russian agents and likely don’t want the details surrounding these contacts to be made public.