Donald Trump’s declassification of classified documents argument appears to have been debunked: Report

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Former President Donald Trump reportedly spoke in the summer of 2021 about a classified document he held about a potential attack on Iran, according to a recording obtained by federal prosecutors.

Sources told CNN that the recently obtained recording indicates that the former president knew he had classified documents. His ownership of the documents has been a controversial topic since August 2022, when the FBI raided Trump’s home and seized more than 100 classified documents. Since January 2022, the government has recovered more than 300 files connected to Trump with classification marks ranging from “CONFIDENTIAL to TOP SECRET information.”

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Trump strongly condemned the raid on his home and denied any wrongdoing. At one point, he said that he declared the documents in his head, and therefore they are not a threat to national security.

In the recording, he suggested he wanted to share the information in the document describing the Iranian attack but was “aware of the limitations on his post-presidency ability to declassify records,” according to a CNN report.

The recording comes from a meeting the former president held in July 2021 at Trumps golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, with two people working on the autobiography of Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff, as well as Trump’s aides. Those attending will not have a security clearance allowing access to the classified information mentioned in the document, the sources said. Meadow did not attend.

The Iranian document is also referenced in the autobiography.

Trump recalled a four-page report that (former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) Mark Milley typed up for Trump himself. It contained the generals’ own plan to attack Iran, deploying massive numbers of troops, something he encouraged President Trump to do more than once during his presidency,” the autobiography says, per CNN.

Mark Milley, the Joint Chiefs chairman, has been questioned by federal investigators, marking him as one of the highest-ranking Trump administration national security officials to be referred for investigation by the special counsel led by Jack Smith for in the Justice Department.

A source said the former president referred to the document as if it were in front of him, and the rustling of the paper indicated he was waving something around. It is not clear if this is the document in question.

A spokeswoman for Trump said “the leaks” from “radical partisans” are “designed to inflame tensions and continue the media’s harassment of President Trump and his supporters.”

“Its just more proof that when it comes to President Trump, there are absolutely no depths to which they will not sink as they pursue their witch hunts. The DOJs continued interference in the presidential election is a shame and this meritless investigation should stop wasting the American money of taxpayers to Democrat political goals,” the spokesperson told the Washington Examiner.

Sources said the 2021 recording will be a key part of the Justice Department’s investigation by special counsel Jack Smith into classified documents about Trump. Smith is reportedly “wrapping up” his investigation that began late last year as the department moves toward a possible indictment of the former president.

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Recent evidence shows the former president knew the documents were classified. The National Archives and Records Administration has reportedly told Trump it plans to deliver 16 memos to Smith detailing his understanding of proper declassification procedures.

The Washington Examiner has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.

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