The chairs of 21 House committees have sent letters to the White House counsel and 53 federal government agencies reaffirming their responsibility under federal law to preserve their records, in particular those relating to investigations of the Trump administration.

The letter states, “Over the last four years, the Administration obstructed numerous congressional investigations by refusing to provide responsive information. You are obligated to ensure that any information previously requested by Congress — and any other information that is required by law to be preserved — is saved and appropriately archived in a manner that is easily retrievable.”

Federal agencies and the White House are legally required to preserve their records under the Federal Records Act of 1950 and the Presidential Records Act of 1978. Congress amended both laws in 2014.