Recording with Trump’s Statements Emerges Washington – The release of a recording could further put former US President Donald Trump in a difficult position regarding the affair involving classified government documents. “As president, I could have released them, but now I can’t,” Trump said in the recording made public yesterday evening by the US broadcaster CNN. The recording, from 2021, captures Trump apparently showing papers to his conversation partners. Specifically, it seems to revolve around a secret Pentagon document regarding an attack on Iran.
The existence of the recording was already known, and its transcript is a central part of the indictment. Media outlets had previously reported on the recording, which had not yet been released. Trump had repeatedly claimed that classified information ceased to be classified after being taken to his private residence, Mar-a-Lago, in the state of Florida. The recording could undermine Trump’s argumentation.
Trump Labels Special Counsel as “Mentally Deranged”
On the internet portal “Truth Social,” co-founded by Trump, he referred to the release of the recording as election interference and part of an “ongoing witch hunt.” He insulted Special Counsel Jack Smith, appointed by the Department of Justice, as “mentally deranged.” According to Trump, Smith, the Department of Justice, and the FBI illegally leaked the recording to the press and distorted the facts. In reality, the recording is more of a defense for him as a former president.
In August, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) searched Trump’s property, Mar-a-Lago, and seized numerous classified documents from his time in office, some of which were highly classified. By storing confidential government documents in private spaces after his term, Trump may have violated the law. He was charged in mid-June in connection with this affair and had to personally appear before a federal court in Miami. Trump pleaded “not guilty.” It was the first time a former US president had to appear before a federal court to face charges.
