Trump heard talking about classified documents in bombshell audio recording

27 June 2023 , 09:39
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Trump is heard apparently referencing a military document on Iran (Image: AP)
Trump is heard apparently referencing a military document on Iran (Image: AP)

Audio of former President Donald Trump appearing to acknowledge classified documents after he left the White House has emerged.

The tape, obtained by CNN, allegedly comes from a meeting between Mr Trump and his associates in his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club and estate in July 2021.

The 45th president is heard talking to a people and allegedly showing them documents relating to a possible attack on Iran calling them "secret" and "highly confidential."

Apparently referencing a document on Iran, Mr Trump said: "Isn’t it amazing? I have a big pile of papers, this thing just came up. Look."

Papers can then be heard shuffling.

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Mr Trump continued: "This was him. They presented me this... this is off the record... but they presented me this. This was him. This was the Defence Department and him."

Trump heard talking about classified documents in bombshell audio recordingTrump currently faces 37 related to retaining classified information, obstructing justice and false statements (Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock)

More papers are heard shuffling as Mr Trump can be heard saying: "Wait a minute, let's see here" and an unidentified speaker is heard saying "Oh my gosh."

"This totally wins my case," the 2024 presidential candidate said, in an apparent reference to his ongoing public feud with US military joint chief of staff Mark Milley.

The former president then adds: "Except it is like, highly confidential...

"Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this."

After this interaction, one of Mr Trump's staffers joked that "Hillary would print that out all the time", referring to a private email kept by Hillary Clinton for which she was widely criticised, but never charged.

The tape was already known to exist, but this is the first time it has been heard in public.

The people present were working on the autobiography of Mr Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, according to reports.

Trump heard talking about classified documents in bombshell audio recordingSpecial Counsel Jack Smith is leading the investigation (AFP via Getty Images)

Trump currently faces 37 related to retaining classified information, obstructing justice and false statements.

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The indictment accuses the former president of showing "classified documents to others" on two occasions.

One allegedly occurred in a meeting with a writer at his Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster where he described federal officials' "plan of attack" against him and purportedly acknowledged that he knew the information "is still a secret."

Mr Trump denies the charges against him and says the documents he took from the White House were declassified.

Referring to a military document about Iran and Milley in the audio recording, Mr Trump said: "These are the papers..."

His staffer responds, before Mr Trump says "This was done by the military and given to me."

With some interjections from one o the staffers, Mr Trump continued: "See as president I could have declassified it. Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret. Isn’t that interesting?

"It’s so cool. I mean it’s so – look, her and I, and you probably almost didn’t believe me, but now you believe me."

Mr Trump told Fox News last week: "There was no document. That was a massive amount of papers and everything else talking about Iran and other things.

"And it may have been held up or may not, but that was not a document. I didn’t have a document, per se. There was nothing to declassify. These were newspaper stories, magazine stories and articles."

Benjamin Lynch

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