Bestie, wake up, new Trump tape just dropped!
The most shocking part of the federal indictment against Donald Trump was the inclusion of a partial transcript of an audio recording in which the former President blatantly says he’s holding a classified document and then showing it to people. Not even for profit, just for spite.
The indictment shares moments from the convo in which Trump says identifies a document, calls it “secret information,” specifically notes that he didn’t declassify it while president, and tells those in the room, including two writers working on a memoir and at least one aide, to look at it.
But reading pieces of a transcript isn’t hearing it. It isn’t the same as listening to a man who wants to be president again just casually violating the espionage act. It’s what the jury will hear, and it frankly couldn’t be more damning.
Related: Melania Did NOT Come With Donald To Face His Arraignment!
Listening to the audio, first obtained by CNN, blows away Trump’s already lackluster defense that he was just ruffling around newspapers and never had the actual document there. Though we don’t have video, it’s unmistakable from the sounds that he’s looking for a specific document, finds it, and then pauses for people to lean in and look after saying, “Look at this.” And it isn’t some newspaper article, he says specifically what he’s showing them is “secret information” and it’s a problem that he didn’t declassify. Whatever defense they thought they could get away with after just seeing the transcript, it’s dust. Listen for yourself (below):
Obviously the big show here is the audio, and we highly recommend listening if you can. But just a couple crucial tidbits to remember…
Trump is complaining that General Mark Milley, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had characterized him as reckless or something — and his defense is that Milley was the one who wanted the US to attack Iran. His evidence? A potential Iran attack plan they had drawn up.
Yep. That’s what he’s showing a bunch of aides and writers. What he was keeping at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. A top secret document detailing how the US would attack Iran if they had to — the type of national defense document that is seriously dangerous for anyone outside the military top brass to see. Trump says:
“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.”
After some jabs at Hillary Clinton over her handling of sensitive information — truly hilarious in this context — Trump explicitly says:
“These are the papers. This was done by the military and given to me.”
Yeah. He’s not holding the NY Times crossword when he says that. And then of course there’s the infamous moment he undercuts his other big defense, that he’d already declassified everything:
“See as president I could have declassified it. Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.”
Amazing. Just amazing. Again, this is not the only piece of evidence, far from it. There’s also plenty of witness testimony, all the documents the FBI found when they were eventually forced to raid Mar-a-Lago, there’s tons. But this is the cherry on top.
How did Trump respond to this audio? What’s his new defense? He posted on his Truth Social Monday night:
“The Deranged Special Prosecutor, Jack Smith, working in conjunction with the DOJ & FBI, illegally leaked and ‘spun’ a tape and transcript of me which is actually an exoneration, rather than what they would have you believe. This continuing Witch Hunt is another ELECTION INTERFERENCE Scam. They are cheaters and thugs!”
We have no idea what he’s talking about, how that tape could possibly be seen as exculpatory. If only he spoke as clearly and explicitly on social media as he does on leaked audio tapes…
[Image via ABC/YouTube.]
