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The publication of a sound recording could plunge the accused former US president Donald Trump into the affair of secret government documents that need explanation. “As president I could have released them, now I can’t,” Trump said in the 2021 recordings that CNN has now made public.
He apparently shows the paper to interlocutors. Specifically, it appears to be a secret Pentagon document about an attack on Iran that Trump is passing around. Trump is heard saying, “He said I wanted to attack Iran. Isn’t that great? I’ve got a big stack of papers, this just surfaced. Look. That was him. They put that in front of me – it’s unofficial, but – they put that in front of me. That was him. It was the Defense Department and him.”
“Highly Confidential”
Trump says on the audio recording, “These are the papers,” referring to something in it that he describes as “highly confidential.” In an interview with Fox News last week, he also undermines his own claims. There he said, “I had no document per se. There was nothing to declassify. These were newspaper reports, magazine reports, and articles.”
The existence of the recording was already known – the copy is a central part of the indictment. The media also reported the sound recording, which had not yet been published. Trump has repeatedly claimed classified information was no longer classified after it was taken to his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. The recording could undermine Trump’s argument.
He pleaded not guilty
The Federal Police FBI had searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in August and seized numerous classified documents from his tenure, some of them at the highest level of classification. Storing confidential government documents in private rooms after his term in office could have made Trump a criminal offence.
He was charged in the affair in mid-June and was ordered to appear in person in federal court in Miami. Trump pleaded “not guilty”. It was the first time a former US president had appeared in federal court to face charges. (SDA/neo)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
