--- title: Donald Trump Transition Team Ordered to Preserve Documents description: According to a report by the New York Times canonical: https://time.com/4821411/donald-trump-transition-russia/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-16T14:19:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:07:53.443Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump's Transition Team Was Ordered to Preserve Documents og:description: Related to the Russia investigation. og:url: https://time.com/4821411/donald-trump-transition-russia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c003b9ac4615baf/6988d200cf40a831e8c48288/gettyimages-634600128.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3580 og:image:height: 2014 og:image:alt: President Trump Holds Joint Press Conference With Japanese PM Shinzo Abe og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump's Transition Team Was Ordered to Preserve Documents twitter:description: Related to the Russia investigation. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6c003b9ac4615baf/6988d200cf40a831e8c48288/gettyimages-634600128.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump's Transition Team Was Ordered to Preserve Documents: Report > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=122f50bf-274e-4123-ab7a-b5b0e6c3ef3e&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Here's What Donald Trump Said About a President Being Under Investigation Before [Watch (HLS stream): Here's What Donald Trump Said About a President Being Under Investigation Before](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/UOW6fDKV.m3u8) (1:42)  _Published 2017-06-15. President Donald Trump is reportedly under investigation for possible obstruction of justice, the Washington Post reported Wednesday evening, citing unidentified officials._ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 16, 2017 2:19 PM UTC President Donald Trump is reportedly under investigation for possible obstruction of justice, the Washington Post reported Wednesday evening, citing unidentified officials. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 16, 2017 2:19 PM UTC The Trump transition team has been instructed to save documents related to the ongoing investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, the [New York _Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/16/us/politics/trump-transition-team-russia-inquiry.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&%5Fr=1) reports. The transition team’s general counsel’s office reportedly sent a memo to members of the transition team, ordering them to preserve “any physical and electronic records that may be related in any way to the subject matter of the pending investigations,” [according to the report.](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/16/us/politics/trump-transition-team-russia-inquiry.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&%5Fr=1) Information on former campaign manager Paul Manafort, former adviser Carter Page, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, business partner of Manafort’s Rick Gates, and Roger Stone, who is called an informal Trump adviser in the document, is also being sought in the memo. The men named in the memo have been at times linked to the investigations into Russian meddling. The _Times_ reports that the internal memo indicates that any failure to preserve documents could result in criminal or civil penalties and “could form the basis of legal claims, legal presumptions, or jury instructions relating to spoliation of evidence.” President Trump has continued to blast the investigation into Russian meddling as a “[witch hunt](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/875682853585129472)” that has so far failed to produce any evidence that he colluded with Russians. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/875682853585129472) \[[NYT\]](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/16/us/politics/trump-transition-team-russia-inquiry.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&%5Fr=1) ## Transcript Hillary Clinton is unfit and unqualified to be the President of the United States. And she's likely to be under investigation for criminality for a very very long time to come. One of her long- time supporters A top Democratic pollster and a very respected man, Doug Schone, is now withdrawing his support from Hillary Clinton. [ APPLAUSE ] He wrote a recent article. He said I'm a Democrat. I work for Bill Clinton, but I can't vote for Hillary. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] He went on. I'm now convinced, so important. Folks, this is so important, because our country has enough problems. He said I'm now convinced that we will be facing the very possibility. Of a constitutional crisis. With many dimensions, and you know this is so true. Deleterious consequences should secretary Clinton win this election. In other words, we're going to be tied up in court for the rest of our lives with this deal. She's not gonna win the election, but I'm just saying. [ APPLAUSE ] If Hillary is elected, she would be under protracted criminal investigation likely followed by the trial. Of a sitting president. 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