Prior to the creation of the National Archives in 1934, it was the Secretary of State who was charged with keeping and preserving the official documents of government, including any Articles of Impeachment and the judgment pronounced upon them by the Senate.

The Senate's impeachment trial rules were revised for the trial of President Johnson in 1868 and again in the 1980's for a series of impeachment trials of three federal judges. For whatever reason, this provision mandating transmittal to the Secretary of State, was never revised to reflect the creation of the National Archives.

Since 1934, it has been the responsibility of the National Archives to be the depository for the records of all three branches of the federal government. Construction was completed and the Archives opened for business in 1936. However, the Senate did not begin to transmit its records to the Archives until 1937, and the House did not do so systematically until 1946! Many earlier documents were lost or damaged.

While the Archives has legal custody of executive branch records sent to it, it does not have legal control over the legislative records of the House and Senate. The Federal Records Act of 1950 allowed the House and Senate to retain legal control over their records. The Archives' responsibility over legislative documents is limited to being their depository and their preserver.

Finally, the House and Senate place different rules of access on their respective documents. The Senate opens its records after 20 years, unless they contain classified information or matters of personal privacy -- in which case the public wait is 50 years. The House allows access to its records after 30 years. Congressional records do not fall under the Freedom of Information Act.

For more information, visit the National Archives.