Prosecutors have recording of Trump discussing sensitive Iran document

The Washington Post-May 31st, 2023

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Special counsel Jack Smith has obtained a 2021 recording in which Donald Trump appears to brag about having a classified document related to Iran, suggesting the former president understood both the legal and security concerns around his possession of such restricted information, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

The recording was made at a meeting at Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, N.J., said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing criminal investigation. It features Trump describing a multi-page document that he claims is about possibly attacking Iran, expressing a desire to share that information with others but also making some kind of acknowledgment that he shouldn’t do so.

The existence of the recording was first reported by CNN. It has not been made public, and the people familiar with it would not describe Trump’s statements verbatim. But for Justice Department prosecutors examining Trump’s possible mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House, the audio could be important evidence about Trump’s state of mind and his understanding of the rules about classified information — and it might show the path of certain sensitive documents once they left the White House.

Trump’s lawyers have suggested that the former president either did not know he possessed classified documents after leaving the White House or could have declassified such material while in office.

Smith’s investigation appears to be centered on classified material discovered last August at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida home and private club, weeks after the Justice Department demanded the return of all documents marked classified and a lawyer for Trump handed over documents said to be responsive to that subpoena.

The Washington Post reported last year that among the sensitive documents recovered by the FBI was a document describing Iran’s missile program. It’s unclear if that document is the same one described in the audio recording. The Post has also reported that investigators suspect Trump’s motive for keeping classified material after leaving the White House may have been mostly ego, and that he insisted the documents were his property, not the U.S. Government’s.

For the Justice Department, evidence that Trump knew he had classified material, and understood the restrictions on sharing it, would be an important part of any charging decision.

A spokesman for Smith declined to comment. A Trump spokesperson replied to an email seeking comment by decrying leaks about the investigation, which he said “are designed to inflame tensions and continue the media’s harassment of President Trump and his supporters. It’s just more proof that when it comes to President Trump, there are absolutely no depths to which they will not sink as they pursue their witch hunts.”