UNITED STATES: An audio tape from July 2021 at the former US president Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf club contains evidence of his knowledge of correct declassification procedures.
The recording, obtained by CNN, is crucial in special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment of Trump for improper handling of sensitive information. The tape contains a scene where Trump suggests he had a top-secret Pentagon memo containing preparations to strike Iran.
According to CNN, the incident is one of two mentioned in the complaint where prosecutors claim that Trump disclosed sensitive material to people who lacked security clearance.
The former US president is speaking with individuals assisting former chief of staff Mark Meadows in writing a book. Margo Martin, the ex-president’s assistant, frequently tapes conversations to verify the authors’ statements.
Trump mentions the classified designation of the document in a CNN broadcast and utters the phrase “These are the papers” when discussing Pentagon attack plans, which was omitted from the indictment.
The former US president claims the paper was given to him by the military, but he acknowledges it is still classified. He argues that he could declassify it, but it is still a secret. He and his associates joked about Hillary Clinton’s emails, which were often printed out. He responded, referring to Hillary as sending them to Anthony Weiner, causing chuckles from the audience.
The further passages from the conversation in the audio recording that CNN was able to obtain:
Trump: “It’s so cool. I mean, it’s so, look, her and I, and you probably almost didn’t believe me, but now you believe me.”
Writer: “No, I believed you.”
Trump: “It’s incredible, right?”
Writer: “No, they never met a war they didn’t want.”
Trump: “Hey, bring some, uh, bring some Cokes in, please.”
In July 2021, Trump was angered by reports that joint chiefs of staff chairman Mark Milley advised him not to strike Iran during his presidency. He believed the report explaining the plan would refute Milley’s claims, despite the fact that the paper was created earlier in his administration when Joseph Dunford was the joint chiefs chairman.
At the beginning of the month, the former US President entered a not-guilty plea to 37 counts relating to the alleged improper handling of sensitive information stored at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
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