Despite former U.S. President Donald Trump pleading not guilty on June 13 to criminal charges related to his retention of classified documents pertaining to national security after leaving office, a leaked audio recording revealed otherwise. The audio, which dates back to a meeting in 2021, shows that he retained a classified Pentagon document regarding a potential strike on Iran while discussing the retention of documents that had not been declassified.
The recording, first aired on CNN, provides new details from the conversation that is a significant part of the evidence in the indictment by special prosecutor Jack Smith against Trump for mishandling classified information, including a moment where Trump appears to refer to holding a classified Pentagon document with plans to attack Iran.
In the audio, Trump stated: "See as president I could have declassified it. Now I can't, you know, but this is still a secret." A staffer responds, "Now we have a problem."
The two-minute recording also illustrates how Trump and his aides mocked Hillary Clinton's emails after the former president described the document as "classified information." This recording was captured during a meeting Trump held in 2021 at his Bedminster resort with individuals working on the memoirs of Mark Meadows, Trump's former chief of staff.
It is worth noting that earlier this month, Trump claimed he was not guilty on 37 counts related to the alleged mishandling of classified documents stored at his resort in Palm Beach, Florida. The indictment from the special prosecutor alleges that those present—a writer, a publisher, and two of Trump's aides—were shown classified information regarding the attack plan on Iran.
