The former president’s office sent the letter to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in response to a November 2019 request from Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) for access to documents and records from the Obama administration.
“However, the current request is not a proper use of the limited NARA exceptions,” the letter reads. “It arises out of efforts by some, actively supported by Russia, to shift the blame for Russian interference in the 2016 election to Ukraine.”
Grassley and Johnson, as respective heads of the Senate Finance and Homeland Security committees, have picked up the investigative slack left behind by personal attorney for President Trump Rudy Giuliani.
The investigation picked up steam in February as Biden’s chances of becoming the Democratic 2020 nominee surged, and has been marred by at least one GOP witness coming under suspicion of being a vehicle for Russian disinformation efforts.
The March 2020 letter to the National Archives indicated that Obama believed the GOP records request to be “without precedent” and lacking a “legitimate purpose.”
But, regardless, Obama gave the green light for the release of the records, suggesting that the information itself would counteract the disinformation campaign.
“Nevertheless, in the interest of countering the misinformation campaign underlying this request, we are prepared on this occasion to provide the Committees access to the records responsive to this request,” the letter concludes.
Read the letter here:
