October 12, 2022
Former President Donald Trump defended keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home by accusing former President George H.W. Bush of taking official papers to a bowling alley, reports USA Today.
“George H.W. Bush took millions of documents to a former bowling alley and a former Chinese restaurant, where they combined them. So, they’re in a bowling alley slash Chinese restaurant,” Trump said at a rally in Arizona on Sunday, October 9, where he was campaigning for GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.
He wanted to know why Bush, who died in 2018, was not prosecuted.
Trump may have been referring to the site where Bush’s mementos and documents for his presidential library were collected in 1994, according to The Independent. The National Archives runs Bush’s library, in College Station, Texas. Items were gathered and stored in an old bowling alley space, which filled up, so an adjacent former Chinese restaurant kitchen was used for storage.
His comments grabbed the attention of Bush’s son, former governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, who said in a tweet: “I am so confused. My dad enjoyed a good Chinese meal and enjoyed the challenge of 7 10 split. What the heck is up with you?”
He was answered by another Twitter fan, Daniel Dale (@ddale8), who countered: “This is a dishonest claim. The truth: *the National Archives* sorted Bush docs for his library in a heavily secured facility (patrols, cameras, sensors) that happened to be a former alley/restaurant. As with Obama docs the Archives took to Chicago, Bush didn’t take them himself.”
Trump also has falsely accused former President Barack Obama of taking classified documents to Chicago. The National Archives debunked this claim.
Trump is under investigation for keeping government documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The FBI seized documents from Trump’s home in August labeled as “secret” and “top secret.”
Research contact: @USATODAY
