Federal prosecutors have obtained an audio recording of a 2021 meeting in which former US President Donald Trump acknowledged he had kept a confidential Pentagon document about a possible attack on Iran, multiple sources have said. CNN .
The recording indicates Trump understood he withheld classified material after leaving the White House, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation.
On the recording, Trump’s comments suggest he would have liked to share the information but that he was aware of the limitations of his post-presidency ability to declassify the records.
A CNN did not listen to the recording, but several sources have described it. One of them said that the relevant part of the document on Iran lasts about two minutes, and another that the discussion is a small part of a longer meeting.
Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the Justice Department’s investigation into Trump, focused on the meeting as part of the criminal investigation into the handling of national security secrets.
Sources describe the recording as “important” evidence in a potential case against Trump, who has repeatedly claimed he could withhold presidential records and “automatically” declassify documents.
Prosecutors asked witnesses about the recording and the document before a federal grand jury. The episode generated enough interest that investigators questioned Gen. Mark Milley, one of the highest-ranking national security officials of the Trump era, about the incident.
The July 2021 meeting was held at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, with two people working on the autobiography of former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, as well as advisers to the former president, including communication expert Margo Martin.
According to the sources, the participants did not have security clearances that would allow them access to classified information, and Meadows did not attend the meeting.
Meadows’ autobiography includes an account of what appears to be the same meeting, during which Trump “recalls a four-page report typed by Mark Milley himself (a former chairman of Trump’s Joint Chiefs of Staff).
The content included the general’s plan to attack Iran by deploying large numbers of troops, something he urged the former president to do more than once during his presidency.”
Investigators have questioned Milley about the episode in recent months, making him one of the highest-ranking national security officials in the Trump administration to meet with the special counsel’s team. Milley’s spokesman, Dave Butler, declined to speak with the CNN .
The revelation that Trump was taped discussing a confidential document could increase his legal exposure as he seeks his third White House bid. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
A campaign spokesman said the leaks were aimed at “inflaming tensions” around Trump.
“The Department of Justice’s continued interference in the presidential election is shameful, and this meritless investigation must stop wasting US taxpayer money on Democratic political goals,” added the spokesperson.
When asked if he showed confidential documents he kept after the presidency to anyone, Trump replied that he had not, and that those documents were “later declassified”.
Jack Smith’s investigation has shown signs of coming to an end, although it has yet to result in any criminal charges. A spokesman for the special counsel’s office declined to comment on the case.
Trump outraged by reporting on Iran
The recording that is now in the hands of prosecutors shows that they are not only looking at Trump’s actions regarding confidential documents retrieved from his resort in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, but also what happened in Bedminster, a year before.
The meeting at which Trump discussed the Iran document with others came shortly after The New Yorker published a story detailing how, in the final days of Trump’s presidency, Milley instructed the Joint Chiefs to ensure that the then president did not issue orders. illegal, and that he be informed if there were any concerns. The report infuriated Trump.
The New Yorker reported that, in the months following the election, Milley argued against attacking Iran, and was concerned that Trump “could trigger a full-scale conflict that was not justified.” Milley and others convinced Trump not to take drastic action, according to the report.
In the recording and in response to the news, Trump brought out the document, which he says came from Milley. The former president said that if he could show it to people, it would undermine what Milley was saying.
Several sources say the recording captures the sound of paper, as if Trump was waving the document, although it’s unclear if it was the actual document on Iran. There is also laughter in the room which is captured on the recording.
The US military has contingency plans and courses of action that apply to countries and situations around the world.
The meeting took place well before the Trump team sent 15 boxes of presidential records and classified documents back to the National Archives and Records Administration in January 2022, after months of back and forth between his team and the records agency.
Subsequently, the Justice Department obtained additional documents bearing Trump’s classified marks, seizing more than 100 during a search of Mar-a-Lago last August. Trump’s legal team hired people to search other properties, including Bedminster, in late 2022.
Investigators from the Special Counsel’s Office also asked in their investigation into document manipulation and obstruction about other scenarios where Trump may have shown national security documents, as well as asking several witnesses to share details about Trump’s feelings about Milley. .
During the summer of 2021, sources said that several people were recording Trump as he spoke with journalists and biographers.
Trump’s different explanations of the declassified documents
Trump and his attorneys have given several different, often conflicting, explanations for why Trump did not intentionally withhold classified materials in violation of federal law.
Initially, allies argued that the former president had a “permanent declassification order” so that documents removed from the Oval Office would be immediately declassified. A few weeks later, Trump told Fox News that he might declassify things “just by thinking about it.”
Earlier this year, Trump’s legal team told Congress that classified material was inadvertently packaged late in the administration. More recently, Trump told the CNN that the materials were “automatically declassified” when he took them.
However, there is no indication that Trump followed the legally mandated declassification process, and his lawyers have avoided saying until now in court whether Trump has declassified the records he kept.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
