Despite what prosecutors say in an unprecedented indictment against him, including an alleged tape recording of him saying otherwise, Donald Trump insisted Monday that he had not shown any classified documents to anyone after leaving the White House.
The former president he was interviewed by Bret Baier of Fox Newswho pressed Trump on one of the most prominent parts of the indictment outlining the 37 federal charges against him.
Prosecutors wrote in the indictment that on July 21, 2021, Trump allegedly showed what he called “secret information” to others at his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and acknowledged it was still classified and “highly confidential”.
According to the indictment, Trump allegedly said the information was “made by the military and given to me” and appeared to indicate that it was related to plans to attack a foreign country.
The alleged exchange was recorded, prosecutors wrote.
But on Fox News on Monday, Trump backtracked when Baier cited that part of the allegation.
“It wasn’t a document, OK? It had a lot of paper, it had copies of newspaper articles, of magazine articles,” he said.
“There was no document. It was a lot of papers and everything else talking about Iran and stuff. And he may or may not have been arrested, but that wasn’t a document,” Trump said. “He didn’t have a document per se. There was nothing to declassify. It was newspaper stories, magazine stories and articles.”
ABC News previously reported that the recording was made during part of a book interview Trump gave and was later obtained by federal prosecutors.
ABC News also reported earlier this month that Trump’s lawyers had not located the material Trump was referring to in the 2021 recording.
Trump has been indicted by federal prosecutors in Florida for his alleged mishandling of government secrets after leaving the White House. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In a speech to supporters after his trial, he maintained that he “did everything right” and “had every right to have these documents”, an argument that has been disputed by outside legal experts.
Former US President Donald Trump prepares to speak at Trump National Golf Club on June 13, 2023 in Bedminster, NJ
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, FILE
Elsewhere in his Fox News interview, Trump claimed he no longer had classified records and falsely cited the Presidential Records Act as giving him permission to take government records with him when he left office.
He said he took the documents because he was in a hurry during his move from the White House and wanted to go through his personal belongings.
“So, like any other president, I take things out. And in my case, I took it out pretty quickly, but people packed it up and we left and I had clothes in there. I had all kinds of personal items,” he said .
“Because I had boxes, I want to go through the boxes and take out all my personal stuff,” he said.
He told Baier he was running for president again “because I want to make America great again. We were great, we were respected around the world. Very simple.”
He also said he would not want his children in his administration if he is re-elected. Daughter Ivanka served as a senior adviser during her first term alongside her husband, Jared Kushner.
“It’s too painful for the family,” he said.
Should he win another term, he said he wants to be “less combative.”
“I’d like to be less combative, but I find the press extremely dishonest,” he said. “And if I’m not combative, I don’t give my word. If I’m not combative, I don’t know. I don’t think you can win.”
During the interview, Trump criticized the Biden administration — including the economy and foreign policy — and called the case against him a “weaponization” of the Justice Department by the White House.
Special counsel Jack Smith, an independent prosecutor appointed last year by Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee DOJ investigations of Trump, has defended the charge.
“This indictment was voted on by a grand jury of citizens of the Southern District of Florida,” he said earlier this month, “and I invite everyone to read it in its entirety to understand the scope and gravity of the crimes charged.” .
