Donald Trump’s Presidential Library reportedly said it could not find any Twitter (X) DMs sent by the president. The response came after a public records request seeking messages from his first-term Twitter accounts. The no-records reply raised fresh questions about the library, digital archives, and whether private messages were preserved under presidential recordkeeping rules.
Trump Presidential Library claims it can’t find single DM sent by president despite evidence
As per The Washington Post’s June 3, 2026, report, the outlet filed a FOIA request on January 20. It asked the Trump Presidential Library for Twitter DMs from @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS during his first term. However, the library, a National Archives division, replied that it had been “unable to locate any records related to” direct messages sent by Trump. The Post noted this came despite evidence that Donald Trump used the feature.
Meanwhile, the report said court records showed Twitter produced at least 32 direct messages sent to or from @realDonaldTrump. Those records covered October 2020 to January 2021 and were tied to special counsel Jack Smith’s probe. A Twitter lawyer also told a federal court there were “confidential communications” in Trump’s account. However, the lawyer added, “we don’t know the context of [them].”
The mismatch made the Twitter DMs response a sharper archival question. Separately, the report cited a September 2025 Truth Social post addressed to then-Attorney General Pam Bondi. Trump wrote, “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!,” while urging action against his political enemies.
Additionally, the report said the National Archives had planned in January 2021 to capture social media records. But former U.S. archivist David Ferriero later wrote that the Trump administration had “opted not to enable capture of direct messages.” The Presidential Records Act requires official presidential records to be transferred to the Archives. However, the report added that an April Justice Department opinion called the law unconstitutional. The Post said it appealed the library’s response and asked for a better search.
Originally reported by Santanu Das for Reality Tea.
