CNN on Monday released an exclusive audio recording in which former President Donald Trump can be heard discussing "secret" classified documents in his possession that he acknowledged he could no longer declassify after leaving office – a conversation legal experts suggest will be pivotal for the government's case.
The two-minute recording, made at his Bedminster, N.J., golf club, captures a moment where Trump suggests that he possesses a classified Pentagon document outlining potential plans for an attack on Iran.
Trump can be heard referencing a "big pile of papers" and talking about former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, who reportedly urged him not to attack Iran at the end of his presidency.
"The audio clip is powerful evidence for the government on multiple fronts," Adam Kamenstein, a former federal prosecutor and current partner with Adams, Duerk & Kamenstein, told Salon. "It also proves not just that he possessed classified documents but that he knew he possessed classified documents, which will be crucial to the government's case."
"This is so bad for Trump": Legal experts say leaked audio "even more damning" than indictment
The tape also reveals that "the classified documents were not subsequently planted by the government," unlike what the former president has claimed in social media posts, he said.
The fool is so arrogant, he just doesn't know when to STFU.
The DOJ is just sitting back and allowing this fool to hang himself.
The two-minute recording, made at his Bedminster, N.J., golf club, captures a moment where Trump suggests that he possesses a classified Pentagon document outlining potential plans for an attack on Iran.
Trump can be heard referencing a "big pile of papers" and talking about former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, who reportedly urged him not to attack Iran at the end of his presidency.
"The audio clip is powerful evidence for the government on multiple fronts," Adam Kamenstein, a former federal prosecutor and current partner with Adams, Duerk & Kamenstein, told Salon. "It also proves not just that he possessed classified documents but that he knew he possessed classified documents, which will be crucial to the government's case."
"This is so bad for Trump": Legal experts say leaked audio "even more damning" than indictment
The tape also reveals that "the classified documents were not subsequently planted by the government," unlike what the former president has claimed in social media posts, he said.
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The fool is so arrogant, he just doesn't know when to STFU.
The DOJ is just sitting back and allowing this fool to hang himself.