The thing about Donald Trump is that he’s always done crime out in the open, for everyone to see. It’s not a matter of “oh, how will we ever catch this elusive and wily criminal?” The issue has always been the desire to prosecute, and that’s only shifted in recent years, sadly. Now the DOJ has a rock-solid, 38-count indictment against Trump for stealing classified documents and lying about stealing classified documents repeatedly. The federal government’s case against Trump looks and sounds open-and-shut, especially since, oh right, Trump incriminated himself repeatedly. Speaking of, CNN got their hands on one of the audio recordings of Trump incriminating himself in 2021 about all of the classified documents he stole:
CNN has exclusively obtained the audio recording of the 2021 meeting in Bedminster, New Jersey, where President Donald Trump discusses holding secret documents he did not declassify. The recording, which first aired on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” includes new details from the conversation that is a critical piece of evidence in special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment of Trump over the mishandling of classified information, including a moment when Trump seems to indicate he was holding a secret Pentagon document with plans to attack Iran.
“These are the papers,” Trump says in the audio recording, while he’s discussing the Pentagon attack plans, a quote that was not included in the indictment.
In the two-minute audio recording, Trump and his aides also joke about Hillary Clinton’s emails after the former president says that the document was “secret information.”
“Hillary would print that out all the time, you know. Her private emails,” Trump’s staffer said.
“No, she’d send it to Anthony Weiner,” Trump responded, referring to the former Democratic congressman, prompting laughter in the room.
Trump’s statements on the audio recording, saying “these are the papers” and referring to something he calls “highly confidential” and seems to be showing others in the room, could undercut the former president’s claims in an interview last week with Fox News’ Bret Baier that he did not have any documents with him. “There was no document. That was a massive amount of papers and everything else talking about Iran and other things,” Trump said on Fox. “And it may have been held up or may not, but that was not a document. I didn’t have a document, per se. There was nothing to declassify. These were newspaper stories, magazine stories and articles.”
The audio recording comes from a July 2021 interview Trump gave at his Bedminster resort for people working on the memoir of Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff. The special counsel’s indictment alleges that those in attendance – a writer, publisher and two of Trump’s staff members – were shown classified information about the plan of attack on Iran.
LMAO: “The special counsel’s indictment alleges that those in attendance – a writer, publisher and two of Trump’s staff members – were shown classified information about the plan of attack on Iran.” I mean, it’s not funny. But holy sh-t, everything about Trump is such a f–king clownshow. Trump was truly just waddling around his various golf clubs, showing highly sensitive classified material to random people. But Her Emails got a special mention too, which just makes this *chef’s kiss*…
Wow CNN got the tape of Trump’s conversation about classified documents pic.twitter.com/0NVQYAEkor
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 27, 2023
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, DOJ.
-
- Weslaco, TX – Former President Donald Trump attends a border security briefing to discuss further plans in securing the southern border wall in Weslaco, Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to build a state-funded border wall between Texas and Mexico as a surge of mostly Central American immigrants crossing into the United States has challenged U.S. immigration agencies. So far in 2021, U.S. Border Patrol agents have apprehended more than 900,000 immigrants crossing into the United States on the southern border. Pictured: Former President Donald Trump BACKGRID USA 30 JUNE 2021 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Maryland, MD – Former President Donald J. Trump at the CPAC convention at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center 201 Waterfront St, National Harbor, Maryland. Pictured: Donald J. Trump BACKGRID USA 4 MARCH 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Sterling, VA – Former US President Donald Trump and son Eric were seen golfing at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. Pictured: Donald Trump BACKGRID USA 25 MAY 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Sterling, VA – Former US President Donald Trump and son Eric were seen golfing at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. Pictured: Donald Trump BACKGRID USA 25 MAY 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Sterling, VA – Former US President Donald Trump and son Eric were seen golfing at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. Pictured: Donald Trump BACKGRID USA 25 MAY 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Miami, FL – View of protestors and supporters seen outside U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida in Miami, Florida. Pictured: Donald Trump Arraignment BACKGRID USA 13 JUNE 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
He commits his crimes out in the open because he’s never been held accountable before. i’m sure this is all a nasty shock to him, that someone is actually saying “you did something wrong and now you have to answer for it.” his whole adult life has been about escaping “having to answer for it.”
Oh well, too bad so sad, now he’s caught.
Also how freaking scary is it that he was able to just waltz out of the White House with all that information.
You mean Mr ‘grab em by the pussy’ thinks he can get away with doing whatever he wants? This is brand new information.
Sigh.
I still cannot believe that didn’t end the whole thing.
Oh yeah, I thought it was over after that. Imagine my surprise on election night.
I’ve come to learn that the ‘pussy’ comment and imitating a man with palsy is EXACTLY why so many of his fans love him. Finally someone is saying out loud what they already think. There are fewer of us who find these comments outrageous than we thought…. the tragic truth of the matter, it seems to me.
Welp, dude is just pitiful. Anybody still looking up to him or defending him is pitiful, too
He is so deeply needy for admiration that is it painful to watch
But, yeah, Lock Him Up
I almost barfed listen to those ridiculous lackeys just giggling & playing up to him, agreeing to his stupid comments.
(Yawn). Wake me when he’s (Trump) in front of a jury.
(Warning! I may be dead by then)
Seriously, this is going to drag out …forever.
Jail him pending trial, or at least put an ankle monitor on him just to annoy him.
Couldn’t agree more. There’s nothing to see here because he will never be held accountable in any real way and his followers won’t believe any of it anyway. We are preaching to an exhausted choir and he’s going to continue to waddle around criming until he dies.
HE may be dead before then, Renae. I’ve often wondered how he hasn’t had a rage stroke or coronary event. Not that I wish that on him (it would be an easy out – I want to see him get the justice he deserves)…..
I feel like sociopath narcissists don’t have stress the way normal ppl do. He is the one doing the damage, he maybe yells and seems angry but I bet it feels great for him- unfortunately.
Yup, narcissists live forever – life’s much smoother when you don’t worry about anyone apart from yourself.
(Projecting as my 95 year old narcissist parent appears to be planning to outlive us all :-()
My father used to say some people are too mean to die.
You would think by now that Trump would actually want to keep Hillary’s name out of his mouth. He’s under Federal indictment. She’s not. And the way he keeps insisting that everyone else did the same crimes he did despite all the obvious distinctions. He stopped being even mildly amusing to me a long time ago.
And yet his poll numbers are still rising high for the GPOP. I truly don’t understand people!!
That’s the hardest part, trying to comprehend the stupidity of his followers. We can’t because we don’t think like them. Their undying loyalty is based on the fears he has vocalized, the racist view points and their fear of no longer having the power they think they had. As the saying goes, it takes crazy to understand crazy.
Right there on that tape, we heard ‘they were committing a coup against you!’. Stupidity knows no bounds.
They justify his actions. When he commits a crime it’s with good intentions and when someone else does a lesser crime, lock them up. It’s total attribution bias.
Hillary and Biden didn’t commit any crime. There were no classified emails on her server. Comey eventually had to admit it. And Trump’s own State Dept cleared her of all wrongdoing. But the NYT didn’t devote several front pages to the news.
The poll numbers are the distillation of crazy. Remember that these polls represent the people who are still willing to identify themselves as GOP and Trump supporters in the year 2023. That’s not the same population as the republican voters from 2016, although there’s significant overlap. The people still on team Trump today are the ones who reject evidence of the bamboozle. Many of the voters who’ve rejected the charlatan now identify as independents.
Ah, but as so many polls have shown in the past, “Independents” are simply (embarrassed?) Republicans who will largely still vote straight ticket Republican in all races. They just don’t want to admit this and like the fact that stupid/corrupt media and misguided Democrats keep bending over backwards to cater to them. It’s a ridiculous farce.
“These were newspaper stories, magazine stories and articles.”
Oh right, he’s just super into scrapbooking, and since his fast food diet forces him to spend the better part of each day on the toilet, making it his hobby room was a matter of convenience. Sounds legit.
Don’t give ideas to his low-rent defense team. I could see them running with this idea. It’s not like they’ll be getting paid, so why not borrow ideas.
Trump must’ve been so mad when the search for the Titan pushed him off of the 24 hour news cycle. And here he is, CNNs #1 revenue generator, until some kid falls down the well or something.
Lol, “ magazine articles”…like the 90’s never happened for the guy. His staff probably occasionally leaves messages on his fax/answering machine at Trump Tower just to keep him happy.
Yes, since he’s been pretty openly criming this wasn’t shocking. But bring me a Coke.
But dear lord, the weapons grade projection – joking about Madame Clinton while they were rifling through stolen highly classified documents and mishandling them every possible way they could – was really something else for me.
Will it never end with Trump?
I am more concerned that nothing touches him, ever.
And his rabid supporters keep going at 2024.
Some legal pundits saying Grandpa Racist’s team leaked the audio to further muddy the potential juror pool. Their concern has me concerned. And that openly MAGAt judge now refusing to keep the witness list confidential. It seems the whole and only strategy is to buy or intimidate jury members, given that it’s open and shut based on the evidence. This all makes my stomach hurt daily. 😑
Nah. Jury selection will be tedious either way, but it will get done. The judge is MAGA, but her ruling on the witness list wasn’t necessarily unusual. She said the DOJ hadn’t explained why it should remain under seal & generally, my understanding is she has been receptive to media requests for transparency.
I believe Trump still hasn’t retained local counsel, nor has his team been able to find any attorneys with national security experience, which would be crucial for his defense. He’s in a very, very bad spot.
Thank you, Lizzie. Your analysis makes my stomach hurt somewhat less.
@ Lizzie, this is music to my ears that he still hasn’t retained the efficient counsel. Drumpf forced to hitch with improper counsel could result with actual accountability and prison. Plus he has 3 other criminal cases against him as well.
There will be juries in DC and Georgia, at the very least, we have not gotten midway through the indictments. Indictment season is going to be long.
Despite all of these crimes out in the open and admitted by Trump, he still has the support of most Republicans. I don’t understand.
They are Authoritarians, their Idol, god can do no wrong and if you question anything you are questioning God. The majority of the remaining Republicans seem to come from Authoritarian households. It explains a lot.
I agree but I think it’s an act of self preservation as well. They don’t want to upset their constituents, many Drumpf supporters, so they take the path least resistance. IF any of the Republican members speak out against Drumpf they don’t want to lose their standing and they don’t want to suffer from the wrath that Drumpf would quickly create.
Which exposes that they are cowards too!
The reason for prolonged support from Republicans ? Putin and the mountain of blackmail info acquired by illegal means that Grump now has at his disposal and has done for quite some time …. If he goes down, he will take them ALL WITH HIM, MARK MY WORDS …. either that or he will get the lightest of all sentences… for ..well… reasons
There are so many nightmare scenarios that will play out if this traitor ever wins the White House again but one is that the US will become completely isolated. None of our allies will ever risk sharing intelligence information with us (quite rightly) and will start to see us as more of a threat than a friend. Which of course is Putin’s ultimate goal.
And Putin and his merry band of hackers will jump in to the ‘24 election cycle and restart their involvement of trying to meddle Drumpf into victory again. Make no mistake, even if Putin is still waging a war against Ukraine he will make certain to keep his priorities straight.
I don’t care how obvious his crimes are. Like he said, he can walk up 5th Avenue in NYC, shoot and kill an innocent bystander in front of hundreds/thousands of witnesses and STILL be found not guilty. It’s like the Republicans during Trump’s 2 impeachments. ” We don’t care what the evidence says. He is NOT guilty.”