Listen 3 min
Comment on this story Comment
Gift Article
Share
Federal prosecutors unveiled new charges against former president Donald Trump on Thursday evening in his alleged hoarding and hiding of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, including one count that centers on a now-infamous conversation that Trump allegedly had at his golf club and summer residence in Bedminster, N.J., in July 2021.
Wp Get the full experience.Choose your plan ArrowRight
That conversation focused on what has been described as a secret military document concerning Iran.
The Washington Post had previously obtained an audio recording of the conversation, in which Trump appears to brag about possessing a classified document related to Iran that he acknowledges he did not declassify before leaving office.
The recording, made at a meeting, is an important piece of evidence obtained by special counsel Jack Smith. It appears to undercut Trump’s claims that he had declassified documents later found in his possession before leaving office or didn’t know that he was not allowed to possess restricted documents after leaving the White House.
Advertisement
The recording is referenced in the initial federal indictment against Trump that was issued in June. In a superseding indictment filed June 27, Trump faces additional charges, including a new count of willful retention of national security information that is based on him allegedly showing the document to others during that recorded conversation. The recording was first aired by CNN.
“See, as president I could have declassified it, now I can’t. … Isn’t that interesting? It’s so cool,” Trump says on the recording.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the 37 charges in the initial indictment. He has publicly claimed that he was unaware of the Iran document being among the materials in the boxes recovered at Mar-a-Lago — his private club and Florida residence — by the FBI and Justice Department. He also has said everything he took with him was declassified.
Advertisement
Prosecutors’ initial 49-page indictment outlined two instances in which Trump disclosed sensitive papers in unsecured environments, post-presidency, to individuals who lacked the necessary security clearances required to view any classified information. The second instance described in the indictment was an August or September 2021 meeting where Trump showed an unnamed representative of his political action committee a classified map of “Country B,” and expressed to the individual that he shouldn’t be sharing the map.
Meadows described the first scene in his book, “The Chief’s Chief,” indicating that Trump described a four-page document he claimed was an invasion plan for Iran that he said was written by the Defense Department and Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. At that time, Milley was a frequent target of Trump’s ire, and the former president was hoping to push back against articles and books in which Milley was described as having had to restrain Trump from irresponsible military action in Iran.
Former military officials previously told The Post that Milley never recommended attacking Iran. But it was customary for the Pentagon to prepare memos outlining a variety of military options to respond to a foreign adversary, people familiar with Milley’s briefings to the president said. The Pentagon did have a memo for a military attack on Iran as one conceivable option, but it was not written by Milley, these people said.
Advertisement
During the nearly two-minute recording, Trump describes a document as “highly confidential” before saying “this is secret information.” At one point he says, “You probably didn’t believe me, but now you believe me. It’s incredible.”
The audio also runs counter to what Trump told Fox News anchor Bret Baier in an interview that aired last week. In the interview, Trump denied referring to an actual document during the conversation at Bedminster; rather, he said he was discussing “newspaper stories, magazine stories and articles.”
Comments
Gift this articleGift Article
Trump Mar-a-Lago classified documents
HAND CURATED
Carlos De Oliveira makes first court appearance in Trump documents case
3 hours ago
Carlos De Oliveira makes first court appearance in Trump documents case
3 hours ago
How the superseding indictment and third defendant impact Trump documents case
July 28, 2023
How the superseding indictment and third defendant impact Trump documents case
July 28, 2023
Trump aide Carlos De Oliveira’s journey from failed witness to defendant
July 28, 2023
Trump aide Carlos De Oliveira’s journey from failed witness to defendant
July 28, 2023
View 3 more stories
Loading...
View more