U.S. Code » Title 44 » Chapter CHAPTER 22— PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS

44 U.S.C. § 2201

Definitions

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As used in this chapter—(1) The term “documentary material” means all books, correspondence, memoranda, documents, papers, pamphlets, works of art, models, pictures, photographs, plats, maps, films, and motion pictures, including, but not limited to, audio and visual records, or other electronic or mechanical recordations, whether in analog, digital, or any other form.(2) The term “Presidential records” means documentary materials, or any reasonably seg­regable portion thereof, created or received by the President, the President’s immediate staff, or a unit or individual of the Executive Office of the President whose function is to advise or assist the President, in the course of conducting activities which relate to or have an effect upon the carrying out of the constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President. Such term—(A) includes any documentary materials relating to the political activities of the President or members of the President’s staff, but only if such activities relate to or have a direct effect upon the carrying out of constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President; but(B) does not include any documentary materials that are (i) official records of an agency (as defined in section 552(e) 11 See References in Text note below. of title 5, United States Code); (ii) personal records; (iii) stocks of publications and stationery; or (iv) extra copies of documents produced only for convenience of reference, when such copies are clearly so identified.(3) The term “personal records” means all documentary materials, or any reasonably segregable portion therof,22 So in original. Probably should be “thereof,”. of a purely private or nonpublic character which do not relate to or have an effect upon the carrying out of the constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President. Such term includes—(A) diaries, journals, or other personal notes serving as the functional equivalent of a diary or journal which are not prepared or utilized for, or circulated or communicated in the course of, transacting Government business;(B) materials relating to private political associations, and having no relation to or direct effect upon the carrying out of constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President; and(C) materials relating exclusively to the President’s own election to the office of the Presidency; and materials directly relating to the election of a particular individual or individuals to Federal, State, or local office, which have no relation to or direct effect upon the carrying out of constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President.(4) The term “Archivist” means the Archivist of the United States.(5) The term “former President”, when used with respect to Presidential records, means the former President during whose term or terms of office such Presidential rec­ords were created.(Added Pub. L. 95–591, § 2(a), Nov. 4, 1978, 92 Stat. 2523; amended Pub. L. 113–187, §§ 2(b), 8(2), Nov. 26, 2014, 128 Stat. 2005, 2011.)Editorial NotesReferences in Text

Section 552(e) of title 5, referred to in par. (2)(B)(i), was redesignated section 552(f) of title 5 by section 1802(b) of Pub. L. 99–570.

Amendments

2014—Par. (1). Pub. L. 113–187, § 2(b)(1), substituted “memoranda” for “memorandums” and “audio and visual records” for “audio, audiovisual” and inserted “, whether in analog, digital, or any other form” after “mechanical recordations”.

Par. (2). Pub. L. 113–187, § 8(2), substituted “the President’s” for “his” in introductory provisions and in subpar. (A).

Pub. L. 113–187, § 2(b)(2), substituted “advise or assist” for “advise and assist” in introductory provisions.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date

Pub. L. 95–591, § 3, Nov. 4, 1978, 92 Stat. 2528, provided that: “The amendments made by this Act [enacting this chapter, amending sections 2111 and 2112 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section] shall be effective with respect to any Presidential records (as defined in section 2201(2) of title 44, as amended by section 2 of this Act) created during a term of office of the President beginning on or after January 20, 1981.”

Short Title of 1978 Amendment

For short title of Pub. L. 95–591, which enacted this chapter, as the “Presidential Records Act of 1978”, see section 1 of Pub. L. 95–591, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.

Separability

Pub. L. 95–591, § 4, Nov. 4, 1978, 92 Stat. 2528, provided that: “If any provision of this Act [enacting this chapter, amending sections 2107 and 2108 of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section] is held invalid for any reason by any court, the validity and legal effect of the remaining provisions shall not be affected thereby.”

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 73 cases (19 in the last 5 years), 1982–2026 · leading case: Jud. Watch, Inc. v. United States Secret Serv., 726 F.3d 208 (D.C. Cir. 2013).
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Jud. Watch, Inc. v. United States Secret Serv., 726 F.3d 208 (D.C. Cir. 2013). · cites it 6× “5 The Secret Service refused each request, asserting that WAVES and ACR records are not “agency records” subject to FOIA, but rather are “Presidential records” subject to the more restrictive disclosure regime established by the Presidential Records Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. §§ 2201…”
Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics v. Cheney, 593 F. Supp. 2d 194 (D.D.C. 2009). · cites it 8× “Plaintiffs’ claims implicate the Presidential Record Act (“PRA” or “the Act”), 44 U.S.C. § 2201 et seq., which Congress enacted following a controversy surrounding President Richard M.”
Doyle v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., 331 F. Supp. 3d 27 (S.D. Ill. 2018). · cites it 5× “§§ 2102 - 2118, 2901 - 2910, 3101 - 3107, 3301 - 3324, and the Presidential Records Act ("PRA"), 44 U.S.C. §§ 2201 - 2209 ; it seeks injunctive relief and, under the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.”
Richard Nixon v. United States, 978 F.2d 1269 (D.C. Cir. 1992). · cites it 4× “By all accounts, before the Presidential Records Act of 1978, 44 U.S.C. §§ 2201 et seq., Presidents were never subject to any such specific, express legal duty to create or maintain their papers.”
United States Dep't of Just. v. Tax Analysts, 492 U.S. 136 (1989). · cites it 2× “§ 3301 , and in the Presidential Records Act of 1978, 44 U. S. C. § 2201 (2), encompassed materials "received" by an agency).”
Scott Armstrong, Appellees/cross-Appellants v. Exec. Off. of the President, Appellants/cross-Appellees, 90 F.3d 553 (D.C. Cir. 1996). · cites it 4× “* The Presidential Records Act, 44 U.S.C. § 2201 et seq., which applies to most NSC documents, provides in part that a president’s records are to be made publicly available five years after he leaves office, except that national defense and certain other information is to be…”
Am. Immigr. Lawyers Ass'n v. Exec. Off. for Immigr. Review, 830 F.3d 667 (D.C. Cir. 2016). “§ 552a(a)(4) (defining “record” under the Privacy Act as “any item, collection, or grouping of information”); 44 U.S.C. § 2201 (2) (defining “Presidential records” as “documentary materials, or any reasonably segregable portion thereof,” meeting certain criteria); id.”
Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Wash. v. Trump, 302 F. Supp. 3d 127 (D.C. Cir. 2018). · cites it 2× “The Presidential Records Act and the Federal Records Act The creation, management, and disposal of records by the federal government is controlled by two key statutes: the Presidential Records Act and the Federal Records Act.”
Armstrong v. Exec. Off. of the President, 877 F. Supp. 690 (D.D.C. 1995). · cites it 5× “See 44 U.S.C. § 2201 et seq. When faced with two statutes, the general rule is that a repeal by implication is dis-favored.”
Am. Historical Ass'n v. Peterson, 876 F. Supp. 1300 (D.D.C. 1995). · cites it 4× “The materials transferred include “Presidential records,” as that term is defined in 44 U.S.C. § 2201 (2). The Presidential records on the tapes were generated by individuals in the White House Office and the Office of Policy Development, as well as in other offices and…”
Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington v. Cheney, 577 F. Supp. 2d 328 (D.D.C. 2008). · cites it 8× “Plaintiffs allege that Vice President Cheney, the OVP, and the EOP have improperly excluded records from the Presidential Records Act, 44 U.S.C. § 2201 et seq. (“PRA”), and seek a declaratory judgment or alternatively a writ of mandamus based on those allegations.”
Donald Trump v. Bennie Thompson, 20 F. 4th 10 (D.C. Cir. 2021). “The information sought pertains to the activities of former President Trump and White House staff in “carrying out the * * * duties of the President” on and around January 6, and those records are exclusively within the control of the Archivist, 44 U.S.C. §§ 2201 (2), 2202. For…”
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— 44 U.S.C. § 2201(2) — 1 case
Solomon v. Garland (D.D.C. 2024).
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