And, wait, there’s more
CNN has more on that tape. And it is… just WOW.
Former President Donald Trump acknowledged on tape in a 2021 meeting that he had retained “secret” military information that he had not declassified, according to a transcript of the audio recording obtained by CNN.
“As president, I could have declassified, but now I can’t,” Trump says, according to the transcript.
On the tape Trump lays it all out.
The transcript of the audio recording suggests that Trump is showing the document he’s discussing to those in the room. Several sources have told CNN the recording captures the sound of paper rustling, as if Trump was waving the document around, though is not clear if it was the actual Iran document.
“Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this,” Trump says at one point, according to the transcript. “This was done by the military and given to me.”
Trump was complaining in the meeting about Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley. The meeting occurred shortly after The New Yorker published a story by Susan Glasser detailing how, in the final days of Trump’s presidency, Milley instructed the Joint Chiefs to ensure Trump issued no illegal orders and that he be informed if there was any concern.
“Well, with Milley – uh, let me see that, I’ll show you an example. He said that I wanted to attack Iran. Isn’t that amazing? I have a big pile of papers, this thing just came up. Look. This was him,” Trump says, according to the transcript. “They presented me this – this is off the record, but – they presented me this. This was him. This was the Defense Department and him. We looked at some. This was him. This wasn’t done by me, this was him.”
Trump continues: “All sorts of stuff – pages long, look. Wait a minute, let’s see here. I just found, isn’t that amazing? This totally wins my case, you know. Except it is like, highly confidential. Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this.
Exit take: In the immortal words of The Wire’s Stringer Bell: “[Is] you takin’ notes on a criminal fuckin’ conspiracy? What the fuck is you thinking, man?”
Hacks gonna hack
The usual suspects did not even wait to see the specific charges against Trump before denouncing the indictments.
Facing a right-wing revolt in his caucus, Kevin McCarthy went full blustering hack, tweeting:
Today is indeed a dark day for the United States of America. It is unconscionable for a President to indict the leading candidate opposing him. Joe Biden kept classified documents for decades. I, and every American who believes in the rule of law, stand with President Trump against this grave injustice. House Republicans will hold this brazen weaponization of power accountable.
To the surprise of absolutely no one, the hackiest hackery came from Elise Stefanik, who railed: “The American people are smart and understand this is the epitome of the illegal and unprecedented weaponization of the federal government against Joe Biden’s leading opponent, President Donald J. Trump.”
Senator Josh Hawley huffed: “If the people in power can jail their political opponents at will, we don’t have a republic.” (Trump will get a trial and is still presumed innocent until convicted.)
Ron DeSantis also chimed in: “The weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society. We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation. Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter?”
In contrast, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson released a statement Thursday night calling on Trump to “end his campaign”:
With the news that Donald Trump has been indicted for the second time, our country finds itself in a position that weakens our democracy. Donald Trump’s actions—from his willful disregard for the Constitution to his disrespect for the rule of law—should not define our nation or the Republican Party. This is a sad day for our country. While Donald Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence, the ongoing criminal proceedings will be a major distraction. This reaffirms the need for Donald Trump to respect the office and end his campaign.
Chris Christie is keeping is powder dry until he sees the facts in the seal indictments. “Let’s see what the facts are when any possible indictment is released,” Christie said. “As I have said before, no one is above the law, no matter how much they wish they were. We will have more to say when the facts are revealed.”
INDICTED. AGAIN. - by Charlie Sykes - Morning Shots (thebulwark.com)
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