According to JEE News, federal prosecutors have obtained an audio recording from 2021 in which former US President Donald Trump admitted to having a classified Pentagon document about a possible attack on Iran after he left the White House.
The recordings show that Trump understood that he retained classified material and wanted to share the information, but was aware of the restrictions on his ability to declassify documents after his presidency. The recording is being seen as a key piece of evidence in the investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
The meeting where Trump discussed the classified document reportedly took place in July 2021 at his golf club in New Jersey. Participants included people working on biographies of former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and other aides, none of whom had security clearances. Trump cited a four-page report reportedly prepared by former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, that outlined a plan to attack Iran. However, the document was not prepared by Milli.
The revelation of the recording has raised legal concerns for Trump as he pursues his third bid for the presidency. Prosecutors have questioned witnesses before a federal grand jury about the recording and document. The investigation is said to be nearing completion, although no criminal charges have yet been filed.
Trump and his lawyers have offered different explanations for the classification of the documents, initially claiming a standing declassification order and later saying the material was inadvertently packaged or automatically declassified. had gone. However, there is no evidence that Trump followed the legally mandated classification process.
