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Donald Trump’s Classified Documents ‘Scandal’: Just Total BS?

By Gage Skidmore: Former President of the United States Donald Trump speaking with attendees at the "Rally to Protect Our Elections" hosted by Turning Point Action at Arizona Federal Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona.
By Gage Skidmore: Former President of the United States Donald Trump speaking with attendees at the "Rally to Protect Our Elections" hosted by Turning Point Action at Arizona Federal Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona.

Another day, and another media outlet thinks it has the smoking gun that will send Donald Trump to jail regarding his actions with classified documents. This time CNN believes it has the goods on the former president. Their journalists hope this latest finding will encourage special counsel Jack Smith to bring charges against Trump.

Donald Trump: Here We Go Again

CNN reported May 31 that federal investigators have an audio recording from the summer of 2021 that reveals Trump showed off a classified document about a potential attack on Iran. The CNN authors believe that the recording shows Trump shared classified details of the document with attendees of a meeting, but since he knew his paperwork was secret, he held back from sharing all of the information. 

CNN admitted it had not listened to the recording but interviewed multiple anonymous sources who had knowledge of what Trump said on the tape. The details of the Iran segment were reportedly about two minutes long. 

Is This Criminal Intent to Ignore Laws, Regulations, and Guidelines?

Smith could consider this an important piece of evidence that Trump purposefully flouted laws and guidelines regarding the handling of classified information. The recording could show that the former president had intent to disregard requirements and that he willfully refused to return secret papers to the National Archives.

The meeting in question allegedly happened in July of 2021 at one of Trump’s golf course club rooms in Bedminster, New Jersey. The people reportedly present in the meeting were two authors of the memoirs for Trump’s ex-chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and other Trump staffers. Anonymous witnesses said that the attendees did not have security clearances. 

The document in question was alluded to by Meadows’ autobiography. In that book, a four-page concept of operations was offered by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley that called for an attack on Iran. However, CNN’s sources dispute that the document was produced by Milley or his staff. The general has been questioned by investigators.

Presidential Feud With General Milley

Trump was reportedly attempting to show that it was Milley alone who was advocating for an Iranian attack. Sources close to Milley disagree and instead believe that Milley was the one who tried to keep the president from targeting Iran. 

Nevertheless, a Trump spokesperson was quick to dismiss the latest allegation brought by CNN. “The DOJ’s continued interference in the presidential election is shameful and the meritless investigation should cease wasting the American taxpayer’s money on Democrat political objectives,” the spokesperson said.

If this account is true and the grand jury believes that Trump had criminal intent to keep and share a classified document with people who had no clearances, it could be enough to indict the former president.

However, as I have explained before during the classified documents saga, Trump has a plausible defense should the case go to a criminal jury after an indictment. Trump was once the commander-in-chief and head of all things military. Through this role, he is the ultimate arbiter on whether a document is classified or not, especially one that is related to national security. Trump and his lawyers are also likely to say that any classified document, once it is in the former president’s possession, is automatically declassified and not subject to rules, regulations, or laws required by the bureaucracy. 

“If you have the authority to declassify you are not wedded to any bureaucratic process,” Trump attorney James Trusty told CNN on May 31.

Trump also believes that he can declassify documents at any time “just by thinking about it.” A jury of course could disagree with this assessment.

It is also important to note that Trump has not been charged with any crime and that this report by CNN is hearsay from anonymous sources who may or may not be communicating their version of events to investigators. CNN claims that Smith has the recording, and it could become a critical piece of evidence that might result in an indictment. But Trump has a defense worth articulating – that a commander-in-chief can declassify national security records without adhering to policies and requirements regarding their handling.

Author Expertise and Experience

Serving as 19FortyFive’s Defense and National Security Editor, Dr. Brent M. Eastwood is the author of Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare. He is an Emerging Threats expert and former U.S. Army Infantry officer. You can follow him on Twitter @BMEastwood. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and Foreign Policy/ International Relations.

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Written By

Now serving as 1945s New Defense and National Security Editor, Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare. He is an Emerging Threats expert and former U.S. Army Infantry officer.

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