Donald Trump Heard Discussing Secret Documents On Tape: Report

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Donald Trump refers to something as “highly confidential” in the tapes. (File)

Washington, United States:

Former US president Donald Trump can be heard discussing secret documents he apparently held and admitting he didn’t declare them in an audio recording released by CNN.

The two-minute recording comes from an interview Mr Trump gave at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club in July 2021 for people working on a memoir by his former chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Portions of a transcript of the recording were cited as evidence in special counsel Jack Smith’s 49-page indictment of Donald Trump on charges he mishandled classified documents after leaving office.

The audio file played by CNN late Monday, and also obtained by ABC and CBS, includes a moment when Mr Trump appears to indicate that he is in possession of a secret Pentagon document with plans to attack the Iran.

“These are the papers,” former US president Donald Trump said in the recording, a quote not included in the indictment.

He also refers to something as “highly confidential” and “this is secret information” as he seems to be showing something to others in the room.

“The military made it and gave it to me,” Mr Trump continued, before noting that the document remained classified.

“You see, as president I could declassify it. Now I can’t, you know,” he said.

“Now we have a problem,” replied one of his men.

“Isn’t that interesting? It’s so cool,” Mr Trump said, and the recording ended with him calling for someone to bring some Cokes.

Former US president Donald Trump earlier this month pleaded not guilty to 37 counts of willfully mishandling US government secrets and conspiring to prevent their return, becoming the first US president to face criminal cases.

The Department of Justice is accusing Former US president Donald Trump, who is vying to win the White House again next year, of violating the Espionage Act and other laws when he deleted classified documents after he left office and failed to give them to the National Archives.

In its indictment, the Department of Justice described evidence including an audio recording from a meeting in July 2021 that Mr Donald Trump, who is no longer president, had with the author, a publisher and two of his staff, that none of them have security in the US. clearance , where Trump showed them what he called a “secret” and “highly confidential” document.

The embattled 77-year-old billionaire is accused of knowingly storing dozens of classified documents illegally that he took to his beachfront Florida mansion, refusing to return them and conspiring to obstruct the investigator seeking their recovery.

Mr Trump has also been accused of sharing sensitive US secrets with people without security clearance. His criminal trial is tentatively scheduled to begin on August 14, but his legal team is likely to push back the initial date by months.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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