Federal prosecutors have obtained a 2021 audio recording in which former President Donald Trump admitted to possessing a classified Pentagon document about an attack on Iran after he left office, multiple sources said. CNNReuters reported.
Donald Trump before the judgePhoto: Timothy A. Claire – Pool via CNP / MEGA / The Mega Agency / Profimedia
Trump’s comments on the tape suggest he is willing to share the information, but two sources said he is aware of the limits of his ability to classify information post-presidency.
While CNN has not heard the recording, multiple sources have described it, with one source saying the relevant part about the Iran dossier is two minutes long. Another source said the discussion was only a small part of some long meetings.
Special counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the Justice Department’s investigation into Trump, focused on the meeting as part of a criminal investigation into Trump’s handling of national security secrets.
Prosecutors questioned witnesses about the recording and document before a federal grand jury.
The episode sparked enough interest for General Mark Milley, one of the top national security officials in the Trump era, to investigate the incident.
The Washington Post wrote last weekend that prosecutors had gathered evidence that Trump sometimes kept classified documents in his office and sometimes showed them to others.
Two members of Donald Trump’s staff move boxes of documents the day before an FBI agent and lawyer visit the former president’s Florida home in early June 2022.
Trump and his aides reportedly held a “dress rehearsal” for moving sensitive documents before his office received the subpoena in May 2022.
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