In an audio recording recently obtained by NBC News, Donald Trump appears to discuss a classified military document and acknowledges that he did not declassify it while he was president, according to a partial transcript included in his indictment by federal prosecutors this month.
Trump has claimed in media interviews after his impeachment that he was not in possession of the document when he was speaking. The indictment of Trump and his aide Walt Nauta included a partial transcript that withheld some specific names.
In the 2021 recording, which was first reported by CNN and later obtained by NBC News, Trump is heard speaking with an author, an editor and two Trump employees at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
In the recording, Trump discusses a document he describes as an “attack plan” given to him by General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to attack Iran. Trump then says that the document contains “secret information.”
“I have a big stack of papers,” Trump says on the recording as he discusses the plan amid the sound of shuffling papers. “I was presented with this. This is off the record. But I was presented with this. This was him. This was the Department of Defense and him.”
“Isn’t that amazing?” Trump says, adding that the information available was “highly confidential.”
The special counsel’s office declined to comment when asked about the recording.
In an interview last week, Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier: “He didn’t have a document per se. There was nothing to declassify. These were newspaper stories, magazine stories, and articles.”
A campaign spokesman insisted that the recording proved that Trump did nothing wrong.
“The audiotape provides context that proves, once again, that President Trump did nothing wrong at all,” the spokesperson said.
He added that the president was “speaking rhetorically” and also “humorously” about former Representative Anthony Weiner and Hillary Clinton.
“The media and Trump haters were once again all too willing to take the bait, falling for another Dem-DOJ hoax, hook, line and sinker.”
On the recording, Trump calls the document “information,” and the unidentified woman replies, “Hillary would print it all the time, you know?” It appeared to be a reference to charges that Clinton had classified information on a private email server when she was secretary of state.
Trump then responds on the recording: “I would send it to Anthony Weiner,” a reference to some of his emails being on a laptop owned by the former congressman, who had been married to one of his top advisers.
Trump, on his Truth Social social media platform, made unsubstantiated claims Monday night that investigators had “leaked” the tape. CNN has not said how it obtained the audio.
On Tuesday, Trump took a different approach, saying in an interview that “it was bravado” when he was showing papers to people in the Bedminster room.
“I would say it was bravado, if you want to know the truth. It was bravado,” he said. he told the Semafor and ABC News about his plane.
“He was talking and holding papers and talking about them, but he had no documents,” Trump added.
When asked about his earlier reference to “plans” in newspapers, Trump insisted he was talking about other material.
“What I mean is magazines, newspapers, building plans. He had building plans. You know, construction plans? He had plans for a golf course.”
In early June, Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury in Florida on charges that he kept classified documents he had no right to have and that he misled investigators into keeping confidential materials he knew were still classified.
Read the full indictment.
He is charged with 37 counts, including 31 counts of willful withholding of national defense information, as well as other counts including conspiracy to obstruct justice.
The former president pleaded not guilty on June 13.
Trump was also indicted in New York City state court in connection with hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. He has also pleaded not guilty in that case.
