44 U.S.C. § 3106

Unlawful removal, destruction of records

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(a)Federal Agency Notification.—The head of each Federal agency shall notify the Archivist of any actual, impending, or threatened unlawful removal, defacing, alteration, corruption, deletion, erasure, or other destruction of records in the custody of the agency, and with the assistance of the Archivist shall initiate action through the Attorney General for the recovery of records the head of the Federal agency knows or has reason to believe have been unlawfully removed from that agency, or from another Federal agency whose records have been transferred to the legal custody of that Federal agency.(b)Archivist Notification.—In any case in which the head of a Federal agency does not initiate an action for such recovery or other redress within a reasonable period of time after being notified of any such unlawful action described in subsection (a), or is participating in, or believed to be participating in any such unlawful action, the Archivist shall request the Attorney General to initiate such an action, and shall notify the Congress when such a request has been made.(Pub. L. 90–620, Oct. 22, 1968, 82 Stat. 1298; Pub. L. 98–497, title I, § 107(b)(21), title II, § 203(b), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2290, 2294; Pub. L. 113–187, § 4, Nov. 26, 2014, 128 Stat. 2009.)Historical and Revision Notes

Based on 44 U.S. Code, 1964 ed., § 396(f) (June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title V, § 506(f), as added Sept. 5, 1950, ch. 849, § 6(d), 64 Stat. 583).

Editorial NotesAmendments

2014—Pub. L. 113–187 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The head of each Federal agency shall notify the Archivist of any actual, impending, or threatened unlawful removal, defacing, alteration, or destruction of records in the custody of the agency of which he is the head that shall come to his attention, and with the assistance of the Archivist shall initiate action through the Attorney General for the recovery of records he knows or has reason to believe have been unlawfully removed from his agency, or from another Federal agency whose records have been transferred to his legal custody. In any case in which the head of the agency does not initiate an action for such recovery or other redress within a reasonable period of time after being notified of any such unlawful action, the Archivist shall request the Attorney General to initiate such an action, and shall notify the Congress when such a request has been made.”

1984—Pub. L. 98–497, § 107(b)(21), substituted “Archivist” for “Administrator of General Services” and “Archivist” for “Administrator”.

Pub. L. 98–497, § 203(b), inserted at end “In any case in which the head of the agency does not initiate an action for such recovery or other redress within a reasonable period of time after being notified of any such unlawful action, the Archivist shall request the Attorney General to initiate such an action, and shall notify the Congress when such a request has been made.”

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 1984 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 98–497 effective Apr. 1, 1985, see section 301 of Pub. L. 98–497, set out as a note under section 2102 of this title.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 46 cases (14 in the last 5 years), 1977–2026 · leading case: Kissinger v. Reporters Comm. for Freedom of the Press, 445 U.S. 136 (1980).
Kissinger v. Reporters Comm. for Freedom of the Press, 445 U.S. 136 (1980). · cites it 4× “The head of the agency is required under 44 U. S. C. § 3106 to notify the Attorney General if he determines or "has reason to believe" that records have been improperly removed from the agency.”
Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics v. United States Dep't of Homeland Sec., 527 F. Supp. 2d 101 (D.D.C. 2007). · cites it 2× “While CREW does not, in its second amended complaint, explicitly allege that the secretary of the DHS has shirked his enforcement obligations under the FRA, see 44 U.S.C. § 3106 , 13 the implication from reading the *111 complaint in its entirety is that, according to CREW at…”
Jud. Watch, Inc. v. John Kerry, 844 F.3d 952 (D.C. Cir. 2016). “” 44 U.S.C. § 3106 (a). If the agency head fails to “initiate an action for such recovery or other redress within a reasonable period of time,” “the Archivist shall request the Attorney General to initiate such an action” and shall notify Congress of that request.”
Smith v. United States, 475 F. Supp. 2d 1 (D.D.C. 2006). · cites it 2× “§ 3101 , 44 U.S.C. § 3106 , and 36 C.F.R. § 1222 .”
Competitive Enter. Inst. v. Off. of Sci. & Tech. Policy, 241 F. Supp. 3d 14 (D.D.C. 2017). “44 U.S.C. § 3106 . If the agency head “knows or has reason to believe [that records] have been unlawfully removed from [his or her] agency,” then the agency head “with the assistance of the Archivist shall initiate action through the Attorney General for the recovery *231 of…”
Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington v. U.S. Sec. & Exch. Comm'n, 916 F. Supp. 2d 141 (D.D.C. 2013). “CREW alleges that the SEC has “fail[ed] to take any action to recover the destroyed investigative files or prevent the further destruction of investigative records [,] .”
Cause of Action Inst. v. Tillerson, 285 F. Supp. 3d 201 (D.C. Cir. 2018). · cites it 2× “' ") (quoting 44 U.S.C. § 3106 ) (emphasis in Armstrong ).”
Scott Armstrong v. George Bush, 924 F.2d 282 (D.C. Cir. 1991). “at 967 ; see also 44 U.S.C. § 3106 . After briefly analyzing the legislative history of the FRA, the Court concluded that “Congress expressly recognized the need for devising adequate statutory safeguards against the unauthorized removal of agency records, and opted in favor of…”
Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Wash. v. Pruitt, 319 F. Supp. 3d 252 (D.C. Cir. 2018). “§ 3106 , which mandates that agency heads "notify the Archivist of any actual, impending, or threatened unlawful removal, defacing, alteration, deletion, erasure, or destruction of records in the custody of the agency" and work with the Archivist to "initiate action through the…”
Am. Friends Serv. Comm. v. William H. Webster, Dir., Fed. Bureau of Investigation, (Three Cases), 720 F.2d 29 (D.C. Cir. 1983). “Kissinger held that the records management statutes do not create a private right of action to compel parties possessing wrongfully removed agency records to return them to the agency; the Court explained that the only remedy for wrongful removal of records under the records…”
Jud. Watch, Inc. v. Tiillerson, 293 F. Supp. 3d 33 (D.C. Cir. 2017). “" 44 U.S.C. § 3106 . In other words, the statute directs agencies to take action so long as records were removed, leaving little room for the agencies themselves to determine whether those records are "recoverable.”
Scott Armstrong, Appellees/cross-Appellants v. Exec. Off. of the President, Appellants/cross-Appellees, 90 F.3d 553 (D.C. Cir. 1996). “§§ 3303 , 3303a; see also 44 U.S.C. § 3106 (Attorney General may initiate legal action to retrieve records unlawfully removed).”
— 44 U.S.C. § 3106(a) — 3 cases
— 44 U.S.C. § 3106(b) — 1 case
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