CNN publishedan audio recording that it said was of former US President Donald Trump, in which he talks about his possession of documents related to Iran, which were not declassified.
The recording, which was aired on Anderson Cooper 360, is an essential element of the indictment filed by attorney Jack Smith against Trump for mismanagement of classified information.
The recording features discussions about the US Department of Defense’s (The Pentagon) intentions to launch an attack on Iran. The plans were led by the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley.
During the audio recording, Trump mentioned the Pentagon’s attack plans against Iran and was quoted as saying, “Here are the cards.” Notably, this quote was not included in the indictment.
“Look, as president I could have declassified that, now I can’t… Isn’t that interesting?” the recording reads.
CNN reports that the audio recording, which features the former US president, was obtained during an interview he gave in July 2021 at his resort in New Jersey. The interview was conducted by people working on the memoirs of Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff during the Trump era.
Listen to audio from a 2021 meeting in Bedminster, New Jersey, that CNN has exclusively obtained, revealing former President Donald Trump discussing holding secret documents he did not declassify. https://t.co/yzhq9BzUKc pic.twitter.com/7zV0s3UPP6
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 27, 2023
The attorney’s office, Jack Smith, declined to comment to CNN.
According to a statement from Trump campaign spokesman Stephen Cheung, the audio recording is further evidence that President Trump did not engage in any wrongdoing.
According to the Washington Post , this recording could undermine Trump’s claims that he declassified the documents before leaving office, or that he was unaware of the possession of banned documents after leaving the White House.
In interview with “Fox News”, Trump defended himself against dozens of charges of mishandling classified government documents. He cited his “extreme preoccupation” as the reason for failing to sort through the documents, which were mixed with his personal belongings.
According to him, “I took it out pretty much in a hurry, but people packed it up and then we left. And I had clothes there and all sorts of personal belongings (…) a lot of things.” Trump insists that he has every right to hold onto these funds.
The US Department of Justice has accused former President Donald Trump, who is running for the White House next year, of violating the Espionage Act and other laws. The charges stem from Trump’s alleged possession of classified documents when he left office, which he failed to hand over to the National Archives.
Earlier this month, Trump faced a judge in Miami who read 37 criminal charges against him. This came after boxes containing classified documents were found at his Florida residence by the FBI in August last year. Despite this, Trump pleaded not guilty.
The billionaire, aged 76, has now become the first former US President to face prosecution by the federal judiciary. The charge accuses him of illegally retaining confidential documents that he took with him from the White House after the end of his term.
On July 14, Judge Eileen Cannon scheduled the first preliminary hearing for the case.
