An audio recording obtained by news organizations reveals U.S. President Donald Trump discussing secret documents about a plan to attack Iran as he spoke to a writer after leaving office in 2021.
Federal prosecutors cited parts of the conversation in an indictment last month on charges that he illegally retained classified government documents and then conspired to obstruct a federal investigation.
CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times released the audio clip Monday in which Trump references reports that Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley feared Trump would manufacture a conflict with Iran after losing the 2020 presidential election.
“With Milley, let me see that, I”ll show you an example,” Trump says in the recording, which includes the sound of shuffling papers. “He said that I wanted to attack Iran. Isn’t it amazing? I have a big pile of papers; this thing just came up. Look, this was him, they presented me this. This is off the record, but they presented me this. This was him. This was the Defense Department and him.”
“This totally wins my case, you know?” Trump says. “Except it is, like, highly confidential, secret. This is secret information.”
Trump later says, “See, as president I could have declassified it, now I can’t.”
The former president has said he had a “standing order” to declassify all documents taken from the Oval Office to the White House residence. He pleaded not guilty in a June court appearance.
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