US media played an audio tape where former US president Donald Trump discusses secret documents he reportedly kept after leaving the White House, admitting that he hadn’t declassified them.
Trump discussing secret documents on tape: CNN aired the two-minute recording late on Monday, and subsequently, ABC and CBS received it. Trump had the interview in July 2021 at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club for writers on his former chief of staff Mark Meadows’ memoir, from which the recording was taken.
Special counsel Jack Smith used portions of the recording’s transcript as evidence in his 49-page indictment of Trump on allegations that he handled classified documents improperly after leaving office.
The audio recording contains a passage where Trump appears to be clutching a top-secret Pentagon document that contains plans to strike Iran.
The recording captures Trump saying, “These are the papers,” which the indictment omitted.
As he appears to be displaying something to the other people in the room, he also uses terms like “highly confidential” and “this is secret information” to describe it.
The recording captures Trump saying, “These are the papers,” which the indictment left out.
“You see, I had the option to declassify it as president. Now, you know, I can’t,” he says.
One of the others replies, “Now we have a problem.
That’s fascinating, isn’t it? Just before the recording concludes with him requesting that someone bring him some Cokes, Trump exclaims, “It’s really cool.
Trump became the first US president to face federal criminal charges earlier this month after denying 37 counts of deliberately mishandling US national secrets and conspiring to impede their return.
Trump reacted angrily to the tape’s release on his website Truth Social, labelling Smith “deranged” and falsely accused the prosecutor of working with the FBI and Justice Department to “illegally” leak and misrepresent the footage.
According to him, the tape “actually an exoneration, rather than what they would have you believe.”
“This ongoing witch hunt is yet another attempt to interfere with elections. They are thieves and thugs, he wrote in his message.
The government accuses 77-year-old Trump of knowingly keeping several sensitive documents that he illegally brought to his Florida seaside property, refusing to release them, and collaborating to obstruct investigators looking to collect them. Trump is aiming to win back the White House next year.
Additionally, Individuals without security clearance have charged Trump with disclosing highly confidential US information.
However, Smith has already sought to reschedule the start of his criminal trial, currently provisionally set for August 14, to December.