An alleged military strategy, which former President Donald Trump seems to discuss in a leaked audio recording and reportedly retained post-presidency, has not been included among the documents mentioned in his federal indictment, says a fresh report.
The Pentagon memo related to Iran isn’t among the ones Trump is charged with intentionally keeping, based on the 31 charges in the indictment issued by special prosecutor Jack Smith under the 1917 Espionage Act, as stated by CBS News, referring to an anonymous source. Trump faces a 37-count indictment that involves 31 counts of deliberately retaining information related to national defense without specifying the exact content in the documents. Nevertheless, the anonymous source disclosed to CBS News that the Iran memo Trump apparently refers to in the leaked audio isn’t part of the indictment’s accusation of unlawful retention.
Mark Levin, a legal expert, reacted to the CBS report by tweeting: “That’s why I always urge people to refrain from making snap judgments about issues brought up by the media or announced by the government.” He added that the media have been leveraging CNN’s alleged Trump audio about Iran, which is mentioned in the charge sheet against Trump but supposedly is not actually used against him. “At the very least, this is intriguing,” Levin noted.
CBS News’ sources suggested that the alleged document may have never been handed over to the government. Nevertheless, Smith mentioned the content of the leaked audio recordings in the indictment, accusing Trump of potentially sharing national defense information with an unauthorized individual.
“In essence, it’s classified, confidential,” Trump can be heard saying in the leaked audio recording, as per various reports. “This is privileged information. Just look at it. As a president, I had the power to declassify, but now I don’t. Isn’t that intriguing?”
Trump and his supporters argue that the audio could vindicate him. “What did I utter incorrectly in those recordings?” Trump questioned at a gathering in Concord, New Hampshire. “I haven’t even seen the recording. All I’m aware of is that I did nothing wrong. We had numerous documents. You can hear the rustle of paper. And nobody accused me of any wrongdoing.”
Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, criticized what she termed a “political display of corruption” on Newsmax’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight”. She alleged that the indictment and the media supporting it are attempting to undermine Trump ahead of the 2024 elections.
Habba mentioned Trump saying “off the record” in the audio, indicating that the Justice Department was the source of the leak. Habba claimed, “They wouldn’t do that. There must be some evidence that it originated from the DOJ. Why? Because they’re losing. They’re losing in terms of public opinion, media narrative, and this case.”
Levin, expressing his discontent, called out the manipulation of justice and the media’s involvement. He tweeted on Tuesday, “We have no context for the audio. We are spoon-fed a mere two-minute segment via CNN, a favored state-controlled media. We only know as much as they tell us.” He added that the government’s alleged felonious leak of the tape would be overlooked. “Crimes committed in Trump’s pursuit are no longer considered criminal. The justice system is no more. The Democratic Party has taken control of the federal government.”
