Former president Donald Trump has said that he did not show off classified documents in the leaked audio clip in which he referred to “highly confidential” material, claiming he was merely speaking with “bravado.”
Mr Trump’s comments come after CNN published audio of him apparently showing a map of how to attack Iran to a writer who was helping Mr Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows put together his memoirs. The audio is part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Mr Trump’s improper handling of documents related to national security.
“I would say it was bravado, if you want to know the truth, it was bravado,” Mr Trump told Semafor and ABC News aboard his airplane. “I was talking and just holding up papers and talking about them, but I had no documents. I didn’t have any documents.”
In the audio, Mr Trump is heard saying “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 is later heard saying, “See as president I could have declassified it” before adding, “Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.”
During his interview with Semafor and ABC News aboard his plane, Mr Trump gestured to a stack of papers that featured newspapers, copies of articles and speech texts. When asked about his use of the word “plans” in his interview with Fox News, Mr Trump said he was referring to business plans.
“Did I use the word plans?” he said. “What I’m referring to is magazines, newspapers, plans of buildings. I had plans of buildings. You know, building plans? I had plans of a golf course.”
Mr Trump also said he did not regret his handling of classified documents.
“No, I have no regrets,” he said. “I didn't have a classified document. There was no classified document on my desk.”
