Federal prosecutors have obtained a tape from former President Donald Trump in which he admits to being in possession of classified documents he took with him when he left the White House and had no authority to declassify them, CNN reported Wednesday.
A number of other outlets including Politico, CBS News and ABC News have also confirmed the report, which details how the recording is being reviewed as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving Washington. According to reports, during a 2021 meeting with people who do not have security clearances, Trump is heard at his golf course in Bedminster, NJ, discussing a classified multi-page document in his possession. regarding a possible attack on Iran. Notably, Trump reportedly spoke of his desire to tell others about the document, but he acknowledged he was legally barred from doing so.
The remarks, which have yet to be made public, appear to undermine Trump’s claim that he had declassified all documents sought by the National Archives and the FBI.
“Even Thinking About It”
Since the FBI executed a search warrant on August 8, 2022 at Trump’s home and country club at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, and recovered dozens of classified documents, Trump has repeatedly claimed that he had declassified the sensitive material.
“There doesn’t have to be a process, as I understand it, because different people say different things. If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying it’s declassified — even thinking about it,” Trump said in a 2022 interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. “In other words, when I left the White House, they were declassified.”
Following the revelation of the existence of Trump’s Bedminster recording on Wednesday, Trump’s attorney, James Trusty, maintained that defense.
“If you have the power to declassify, you’re not tied to any bureaucratic process,” Trusty told CNN.
The argument ignores the fact that even unclassified documents must be processed by the National Archives when a president leaves office.
Darkening pattern
In March, Trump attorney Evan Corcoran testified before the grand jury investigating Trump’s handling of classified documents, detailing notes he took during meetings with the former president. These notes are believed to show Trump sought to challenge a federal subpoena ordering him to turn over all classified documents. As with the newly obtained audio of Trump acknowledging his inability to declassify documents by “thinking” about them, the notes with Corcoran could significantly undermine his claim that he had “fully cooperated” with the National Archives and the FBI.
The notes showed Trump was seeking to challenge a federal subpoena ordering the return of the documents, a revelation that contradicts his claim that he was “fully cooperating” with the FBI in the case and could expose Trump to an obstruction charge.
Espionage Act
In April, The New York Times reported that federal prosecutors asked several witnesses if Trump showed them a card he took with him after leaving the White House that contained classified information.
If it turns out that Trump revealed information in classified documents to people who did not have security clearances, the Justice Department could charge him with violating the Espionage Act , which prohibits such disclosures if they could potentially harm US security.
Former Defense Department special counsel Ryan Goodman said in a Twitter thread on Wednesday that the newly obtained tape makes it much more likely that Trump will be charged with crimes.
“Make no mistake. This is squarely a case of espionage. This is not just a case of ‘obstruction,'” Goodman added. that former President Trump be charged under 18 USC 793(e) of the Espionage Act The law matches his reported hand-in-hand conduct.
For his part, Trump’s spokesperson issued a statement to Politico downplaying the revelations as an attempt to influence the 2024 election, in which Trump is a candidate.
“Leaks by radical supporters behind this political persecution are designed to inflame tensions and continue media harassment of President Trump and his supporters,” the spokesperson said. “The DOJ’s continued interference in the presidential election is shameful, and this baseless investigation should stop wasting American taxpayers’ money on Democratic political goals.”