Donald Trump Audio Tape is ‘Game, Set and Match’ for Prosecution: Attorney

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Donald Trump is in serious legal danger if reports that he was on tape admitting that he kept a classified document after he left the White House are accurate, a lawyer said.

Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman responded to claims first reported by CNN that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office obtained an audio recording of the former president saying he was in possession of a classified Pentagon document about a potential attack on Iran.

The audio recording from July 2021 reportedly reveals Trump saying he could not show it to others at a meeting in Bedminster, New Jersey, because they did not have clearance to view the classified document and Trump no longer had the authority to declassify it .

Former US President Donald Trump speaks at an event at Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Florida, on April 4, 2023. Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman suggested the reports surrounding Trump’s audio tape discussing the existence of classified documents could be “game, set and match” for him. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Trump has long denied any wrongdoing in connection with the investigation into classified materials seized from his Mar-a-Lago resort in August 2022, including repeatedly making the disputed claim that he declared the material before he left office in January 2021. In September 2022, Trump said he had the power as president to declassify top secret documents “just by thinking about it.”

However, Trump’s lawyers never repeated the argument that the recovered materials were declassified in any official court filings during the investigation, with an audio clip obtained suggesting Trump knew he wasn’t. declared all the materials in his possession.

“An immediate pressing question is whether this document was among those eventually seized at Mar-a-Lago pursuant to a subpoena or a search warrant. My best guess is yes, because otherwise there is probably probable cause to find Bedminster and hurry up try,” Litman tweeted.

An immediate question is whether this document was among those seized at Mar-a-Lago pursuant to a subpoena or a search warrant. My best guess is yes, because if not there’s probably a probable cause to find Bedminster and give it a quick try.

— Harry Litman (@harrylitman) May 31, 2023

“And from an evidentiary point of view, the audio tape with Trump saying that he is limited in his ability to present classified documents is game, set and match as far as intent and culpable knowledge,” he added in another tweet. “Blows the various ‘I am entitled’ claims out of the water.”

And from an evidentiary point of view, the audio tape with Trump saying that his ability to present classified documents is limited is game, set and match as far as objective and culpable knowledge. My various rights claims were blown out of the water.

— Harry Litman (@harrylitman) May 31, 2023

The Guardian, citing unnamed sources, also reported that Trump could be heard wishing he had declassified a classified Iran document while he was at the White House during a meeting at his Bedminster golf resort on July 2021.

In a statement about the audio reports, a spokesman for the former president said the “outing from radical partisans” was designed to “inflame tensions and continue media harassment” of Trump and his associates. supporter.

A spokesperson for Trump told Newsweek that the “outing” to the media was “more proof that when it comes to President Trump, there’s absolutely no depth they won’t sink to as they hunt their witches.

“The DOJ’s continued meddling in the presidential election is disgraceful and this frivolous investigation must stop wasting American taxpayer money on Democrat political causes.”

The meeting in question involved Trump and people helping his former chief of staff Mark Meadows write his autobiography. Also president was Trump aide Margo Martin, who regularly taped the former president’s conversations with the authors to ensure his comments were reported accurately in the subsequent book.

Talk of the classified document comes after Trump seemed upset about recent media reports that Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley allegedly talked Trump out of attack on Iran in the last few days of his presidency.

Trump allegedly released a document he claimed came from Milley and said if it was allowed to be shown to those in the meeting it would undermine what Milley was saying. While the sound of papers rustling can reportedly be heard in the audio recording, it is unclear whether Trump was holding the document in question at the time.

Former FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann also said Trump could face charges if allegations that the former president knew he couldn’t reveal classified materials he hid from other people were accurate.

“If this reporting is true, and I’m trying not to use hyperbole, it’s game over,” Weissmann told MSNBC. “There is no way he will not be charged.

“One, that’s a tape recording. Even though the reporting also has witnesses, so there can be a tape recording with witnesses, it involves not just possession of classified information, but the dissemination of classified information. That puts it into a completely different ballpark when you’re in the Department of Justice evaluating the seriousness of the violation and whether to file charges,” Weismann added.

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