Former President of the United States, Donald Trump, is charged with having stored secret documents in his private residence, after he left the White House in 2021. This is how he endangered the national security of the United States, the indictment states. In a much-discussed audio recording, obtained by CNN, you can clearly hear that the former president is aware that he has classified documents in his hands. Nevertheless, he still shows them to several people. – I have a huge pile of papers, but they gave me this one. This should not be reproduced, but they gave me this, Trump says to the others in the room. The recording is important evidence in the case against Trump. Was not security cleared The episode took place at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, in July 2021. Trump gave an interview in connection with a book about his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows. Present in the room were a writer, a publishing employee and two of his employees. The individuals were not security cleared under US law. According to CNN, Trump shows a Pentagon document about plans for attacks against Iran. The audio clip was first broadcast on the CNN program “Anderson Cooper 360”. It was in August 2022 that FBI agents entered Trump’s residence Mar-a-Lago in Florida and found around 13,000 documents stored in boxes that were stacked in the residence’s shower room, bathroom, bedroom, in an office and in a storage room. Photo: US Justice Department / Reuters – Isn’t it incredible? This proves me right, true. It’s just that this is strictly secret, says the former president in the recording. – This is secret information, Trump repeats, and continues: – This was made by the military, and given to me. Trump further explains that he could have declassified the document – made it non-secret – if he was still president. The audio recording contrasts with Trump’s earlier statements to Fox News last week. Then he said he had no documents with him. “These were news articles, clippings from magazines and articles,” he claimed. MET SUPPORTERS: Trump stopped at a bakery after the court hearing on 13 June this year. Probable trial in August Earlier this month, Donald Trump appeared in court in Florida to have the indictment read out to him. It states that Trump endangered US national security by: keeping classified defense information obstructing the investigation concealing documents giving false testimony sharing sensitive information with people without security clearance Trump is the first president to ever appear in a federal criminal case. Through his attorney Todd Blanche, Trump pleaded not guilty. – We absolutely do not plead guilty, said Blanche. IN COURT: The former president was present in court in mid-June. The former president is charged with 37 serious charges, of which 31 relate to violations of the US Espionage Act. Several of the charges carry a penalty of 20 years in prison. “It’s just an irresponsible act that puts our defense personnel at risk, that puts our nation at risk,” Trump’s former defense secretary Mark Esper told CNN. The federal trial is likely to start on August 14, court documents show. Trump himself calls the criminal case a “witch hunt”, and believes the prosecution is both “evil” and “disgusting”. Among other things, the classified documents were stored in a shower, on stages and in storage rooms at Trump’s golf club in Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Photo: US Justice Department / Reuters Found documents in shower rooms and in storage FBI agents entered Trump’s luxury residence Mar-a-Lago in Florida in August 2022. There, the investigators found around 13,000 documents stored in boxes which were stacked in the home’s shower room, bathroom, bedroom, in an office and in a storage room. Documents from the White House belong to the government and must be handed over to the National Archives when the presidential term is over. Around 100 of the documents that were found were top secret. They dealt, among other things, with the United States’ and other countries’ nuclear weapons and military capacity, as well as in which areas the United States could potentially be vulnerable. More legal cases In New York, Trump is also on trial in a less serious legal case. It concerns a payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels not to say the two had sex. The case in Florida also has stronger evidence, according to US experts Sofie Høgestøl and Eirik Løkke. – No one denies that he had these documents. Not even his supporters, lawyer Sofie Høgestøl told news earlier this month.
ttn-69
Donald Trump admits in an audio recording that military documents are secret – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
