In a campaign stop in New Hampshire, former U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the recently leaked audio in which he was heard discussing classified strategies for a potential attack on Iran.
Dismissing the recording as “another hoax,” Trump claimed that it was an attempt at election interference. He stated to Fox News Digital, “Everything was fine. We did nothing wrong and everybody knows it.”
The audio recording, published by CNN, served as a key piece of evidence in the federal indictment Trump is facing, which includes 37 counts for alleged hoarding of classified material.
The tape, recorded in July 2021, captured the 77-year-old reflecting on his presidency while conversing with individuals working on former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’s memoir.
During the conversation, Trump suggested that the plans originated from General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The 45th U.S. President was reportedly upset about an article in The New Yorker where Milley claimed to have prevented the former president from attacking Iran during his final weeks in the White House.
Trump was heard in the snippet saying, “Isn’t it amazing? I have a big pile of papers, this thing just came up. Look. This was him. They presented me this – this is off the record but – they presented me this. This was him. This was the Defense Department and him.” He also mentioned that as president, he could have declassified the information but was no longer able to do so.
Individuals believed to be Kate Hartson and Louise Burke, associated with All Season Press, a conservative publishing company, was among those Trump spoke to in the audio.
All Seasons Press had published Meadows’s book, “The Chief’s Chief,” which reportedly provided federal investigators with additional evidence in the classified document probe.
Neither Hartson, Burke, nor Meadows immediately responded to requests for comment regarding the leaked audio.
Trump reiterated his earlier claims that “there was no document” and “there was nothing to declassify,” stating that the materials consisted of newspaper and magazine articles. He insisted, “What was said was absolutely fine.”
While the former President expressed uncertainty about the potential existence of additional recordings, he asserted that he wasn’t concerned because he believed, “I don’t do things wrong, I do things right.”
As the frontrunner in the Republican primary for president, Trump addressed the leaked audio ahead of his speech at the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women’s annual fundraising gala.
Federal authorities have seized numerous classified documents from Trump’s presidential days, some marked as “Top Secret.” Among the 37 charges in the indictment against him is an obstruction charge, alleging that he worked to undermine the investigation.
Earlier this month, Trump pleaded not guilty to the indictment, marking the first time a sitting or former president has faced federal charges.
