Trump shows classified Iran attack plan at Bedminster, admits can't declassify

confirmed Importance 10/10 ~1 min read 3 sources 3 actors

Regulatory Capture Executive Power Expansion

Audio recording captured Trump showing classified documents about U.S. attack plans on Iran to people without security clearances at his Bedminster golf club. Trump stated: “As president I could have declassified it. Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.” This admission proved Trump knew he retained classified material and lacked power to declassify it after leaving office, becoming key evidence in Jack Smith’s prosecution.

Sources & Citations

[1] Exclusive: CNN obtains the tape of Trump's 2021 conversation about classified documents · Jun 26, 2023 Tier 1

[2] In audio recording, Trump is heard discussing classified document he says he held onto · Jun 26, 2023 Tier 1

[3] Trump said on tape he didn't declassify secret Iran documents · Jun 9, 2023 Tier 1

Tiers Tier 1 court records & gov docs · Tier 2 established outlets · Tier 3 regional & specialty press · Tier 4 opinion or single-source. Methodology →

Cite this entry

The Cascade Ledger. “Trump shows classified Iran attack plan at Bedminster, admits can't declassify.” The Capture Cascade Timeline, July 21, 2021. https://capturecascade.org/event/2021-07-21--trump-bedminster-iran-document/