Former President Donald Trump said on tape that he had kept secret military intelligence that he had not disclosed or declassified, according to a transcript of an audio clip of a 2021 meeting acquired by CNN.
Trump is quoted in the transcript as saying, "As president, I could have declassified, but now I can't."
Part of the 2021 meeting's transcript includes Trump discussing a secret Pentagon memo on striking Iran. As per the written copy, Trump claims on the audio tape that he did not declassify the document he is referring to.
Seven Indictments Stemmed From Trump's Handling of Confidential Material
On Thursday, June 8, special counsel Jack Smith's inquiry into Trump's handling of secret information resulted in seven indictments. Since the indictment's specifics have not been made public, there are no details on whether any of the seven charges include the 2021 meeting that was recorded.
Nonetheless, the audio is essential, knowing that Trump was aware the documents he brought to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House remained secret.
While publicly condemning the special counsel's probe as a political witch hunt designed to derail his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump stated that all the papers he took with him to his Florida property are declassified.
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As per the 2021 Meeting
Last week, it was reported that prosecutors had obtained an audio recording of a meeting between President Trump, former chief of staff Mark Meadows, and two people working on Meadows' autobiography. Also present at the meeting were Trump aides, including communications specialist Margo Martin, who were employed by the former president.
The audio recording's content indicates that Trump is holding up the paper he is discussing with the attendees. Multiple media sources have confirmed that the tape includes the sound of paper rustling, suggesting that Trump was waving about the genuine Iran document.
At one point, as reported by CNN, Trump was heard saying, "Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this ... This was done by the military and given to me."
General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was the target of Trump's criticisms during the meeting.
The discussion took place after Susan Glasser's account appeared in The New Yorker magazine, in which she detailed how in Trump's last days in office, Milley told the Joint Chiefs to make sure the president did not give any unlawful instructions and to let him know if there was any cause for alarm.
"Well, with Milley - uh, let me see that, I'll show you an example. He said that I wanted to attack Iran. Isn't that amazing? I have a big pile of papers, this thing just came up. Look. This was him. They presented me this - this is off the record, but - they presented me this. This was him. This was the Defense Department and him. We looked at some. This was him. This wasn't done by me, this was him," Trump said, according to the transcript.
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