The public defense that former president Donald Trump has made against his alleged mishandling of highly classified documents is that he declassified everything before removing them from the White House.
That stands in direct contradiction to what his former chief of staff Mark Meadows reportedly told special counsel Jack Smith’s investigators, according to ABC News. Meadows was also reportedly not aware of any “Standing order” from Trump authorizing the automatic declassification of classified documents.
To make matters worse for Trump, ABC News also obtained an early copy of Meadows’ memoirs. In there, Meadows detailed an incident where Trump left a highly classified war plan against Iran on a couch inside his Bedminster, New Jersey golf resort.
“On the couch in front of (Trump’s) desk, there’s a four-page report typed up by (Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley) himself,” the draft read, according to ABC. “It shows the general’s own plan to attack Iran, something he urged President Trump to do more than once during his presidency.”
This aligns with a previous audiotape of Trump discussing highly classified information at Bedminster.
“It is like, highly confidential. Secret. This is secret information,” Trump said, according to an audiotape of the meeting. “Look, look at this. This was done by the military and given to me. As president I could have declassified, but now I can’t.”
Meadows acknowledged to investigators that he had the section about Trump leaving the war plan on the couch removed as it could be “problematic” for the former president.
Trump, like all other Americans, is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Nevertheless, the world was quick to react to the news:
Mark Meadows will have lots of time in Fulton County Jail to complete his memoirs
and also to get his mind right.
— Michael Banach (@m1db) August 22, 2023
Mark Meadows is going to be a huge problem for Donald Trump and his trials. The only one without incriminating Trump evidence, is Barron, because Trump never knew him.https://t.co/adtqK4Qezn
— Rick Ocean 🇺🇲🇳🇴 Support Ukraine, Save Europe (@RickOceanMusic) August 22, 2023
He was everything he accused Hillary of being
— FFS2022 (@ffs2022) August 21, 2023
I don't call leaving the Iran attack document on a couch in a public office in public view a gaffe.
Former Donald Trump staffer reportedly knew about golf resort gaffe https://t.co/EhgKn0POMz
— MaryCarol Herrington (@speknmymind) August 21, 2023
Mark Meadows says Trump left top secret Iran war plans on couch at golf resort.
45 is such an idiotic moron he was so worried about bragging he could have done so much damage
— Bonnie Towner DEMOCRAT (@BonnieTowner) August 21, 2023
[ABC News]
