Trump responds to audio obtained by CNN of his 2021 conversation about classified documents

This afternoon, Donald Trump responded to the recording you heard first on CNN. The former president discussing having secret documents that he did not declassify. Trump continues to insist that he, quote, did nothing wrong. CNN's Polaried reports. For the first time, the public is hearing former president Trump in his own words, claiming to have secret documents months after leaving the White House. CNN exclusively obtained the bombshell

recording of Trump seemingly rustling through paper and showing off a secret military document during an interview at his New Jersey Golf Club in the summer of 2021. His own staffers recording the conversation at his request and still he tells the room. Trump giving Fox News this explanation Tuesday. What did I say wrong in those recordings? I didn't even see the recording. All I know is I

did nothing wrong. We had a lot of papers, a lot of papers stacked up in the recording. Trump refers to a classified proposed military attack plan against Iran. He said the past. This was done by the military given to me that line. These are the papers coming to light for the first time. We have one set of laws in this country and the apply to everyone.

Special counsel Jack Smith, who is prosecuting Trump in the classified documents and obstruction case, cited the tape in his indictment, but left out that key line and the section where Trump mocks former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server. Look at this. You're a Jack and Hillary would print that out all the time. She sent it to Anthony. The tone throughout is

at all. Trump's close aid and co-defendant in this case, Walt Nade was expected to be reigned in Miami, federal court today, but he didn't make it to the courthouse due to flight delays. His hearing has been rescheduled for next week, but Biana, he still needs to find a Florida based attorney. We know he wasn't the only one experiencing flight delays in the country today. Polaried, thank

you. I want to bring in CNN, political director David Chalian and former federal prosecutor, Ellie Hone, good to see you both. So, Ellie, if you are hypothetically trying this case as a prosecutor, how much emphasis would you put on this tape? This would be the centerpiece of my case, Biana. If I had to address a jury tomorrow and given opening, I might start with these words.

This is secret information. Look at this and the beauty of it is in those seven words. That tells the jury everything they need to know and the best part of it is that's not even my words as a hypothetical prosecutor. Those are Donald Trump's words and the jury's going to hear them on tape coming out of Donald Trump's mouth because it tells you all you need

to know. He knew he had those documents, he knew the information was sensitive and he showed it to other people. So, to me, this is the best evidence of prosecution could hope for. And if I was building in case I would build it around this recording. And it is notable that these recordings, according to Paul, as reporting came at his own request. So, David, we heard

Trump and his allies claiming that this tape somehow exonerates Trump. Do you think there's anything at this point, any specific piece of evidence, any alleged crime that could change that narrative for Trump supporters? Well, I do think we've seen some signs of concern among Republicans broadly about Donald Trump's continued baggage. Right? I mean, I don't know what they're talking about how this exonerates him. I don't

see any ability here for this piece of evidence to be exculpatory. I mean, I don't think there's any ability here for this piece of evidence to be exculpated. This can be brazen, reckless, even potentially criminal on Donald Trump's behalf in terms of what he did with the state security secrets here. And yet, it may not be dispositive for Republican primary voters. And, Ellie, we heard a

bit there from Paul at the end. The Trump's aid wallet, Nata was supposed to be in court today. He missed his appearance because of flight delays, but he also doesn't have local representation yet. How important is it, do you think, for prosecutors, to see if he could possibly flip against Trump? Well, first of all, can we get this guy arraigned already? This is now twice. We've

tried. This is the most basic starting line procedure. They've tried twice enough. First time Nata didn't have the right lawyer this time. A lot of people got caught up in flight delays, but he knew about this date for many, many days counting already. He will, presumably at some point, appear in court and be arraigned. If I'm DOJ, I'm trying to flip Nata. Apparently, they already have,

but I don't think I need him. Right? Usually the decision whether to flip is based on loyalty. And if you look at the case here, Nata has been by Trump's side throughout it all. His lawyer's being paid for by a Trump affiliated entity. And he's not flipped so far. So the thing is, if I'm DOJ here, looking at the indictment, looking at the evidence, including the

recording we just talked about, I don't need him. I have his texts. I have the tapes. And you can build a plenty powerful case without equoperating witness. I think DOJ has that ability now. So the legal case we know, David, it appears to be quite damning. But we also know that Republican voters, they weren't phased much following the New York indictment over hush money payments. Some

suggested that this could be a bigger deal. Do you have any sense of how much they actually care about this issue at all over classified documents? I mean, we do know that overall the public does see politics at role, playing a role in this case. And we see that overwhelmingly among Republicans. But I think as time goes on here, we will start getting our answers. As

the nomination season plays out in conjunction with the court calendar. All right, David Ellie. Thank you so much. As always, great to see you.