Trump claims new audio ‘exonerates’ him, accuses prosecutor of leaking

Donald Trump claimed Monday night that new audio of him discussing and showing off a classified document about possible military action in Iran “exonerates” him, adding that the special counsel was “disturbed.” CNN on Monday night released the two-minute recording of the former president’s 2021 rally in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he spoke about the documents he failed to release before leaving office but took with him anyway. The conversation has become pivotal in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s indictment against Trump.

Specifically, Trump appears to be saying he is holding a Pentagon document with a “secret” classification detailing plans to attack Iran. “These are the papers,” Trump says as he discusses the Pentagon’s attack plans. Trump said Monday night that the tape had been “spun” and proved his innocence. He didn’t explain why.

“The deranged Special Prosecutor, Jack Smith, who worked with the DOJ & FBI, illegally leaked and “spun” a tape and transcript of me, which is actually an exoneration, rather than what they would have you believe. , Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “This ongoing witch hunt is another ELECTION BREACH scam. They are cheaters and rogues!’ The mention of the “secret” classification, revealed in Monday’s audio, was not included in the Justice Department’s indictment, which found 37 counts against the ex-president.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges at a trial in Miami earlier this month before returning to his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey for a press conference. The audio is from a July 2021 interview that Trump took part in in Bedminster for people working on the memoir for the former president’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows. Those in attendance at the meeting, according to the indictment, included Trump, two of his staffers, a writer and a publisher. They allegedly received secret information about the attack plan on Iran, Smith notes in the indictment. Trump said “these are the papers” in the recording when referring to something he claimed was “highly confidential.”

The exchange was one of two charges noted when he alleged that Trump had exposed classified information to people without security clearances. In an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier last week, Trump appeared to contradict what is now known from the audio recording by saying he did not carry any documents during those meetings. “There was no document,” he stressed in the extensive interview. “That was a huge amount of newspapers and everything else about Iran and other things. And it may have held up or not, but that was not a document. I didn’t have a document per se,” Trump added. “There was nothing to downgrade. Those were newspaper stories, magazine stories and articles.’

At the time of the interview, Trump was fixated on an article in the New Yorker about the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley (pictured together). The piece alleged that Milley was worried about Trump starting a conflict with Iran and argued against the president beating the nation in the Middle East. “I was just thinking because we were talking about it. And you know, he said, ‘He wanted to attack Iran’, and – isn’t it great, have a big stack of papers just this thing – look. This was him. They presented this to me – this is off the record.’ Trump says, according to the audio. “This was done by the military and given to me,” Trump continued, before noting that the document remained classified. ‘Is not that great? This completely wins my case, you know? Except it’s highly confidential – secret. This is classified information.’ Read the full story: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12236621/Now-bombshell-audio-reveals-Trump-admitting-classified-documents-shouldnt-taken.html?ito=msngallery

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