Trump a recunoscut că „scrisorile de dragoste” ale lui Kim Jong Un nu au fost declasificate în interviul din 2020

Topline

Former President Donald Trump refused to give Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward letters he sent to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un when the journalist asked for them in January 2020, telling Woodward “those are so top secret,” according to the Post, even though he went on to reportedly ship the records to Mar-A-Lago in an alleged violation of the Presidential Records Act.

Fapte-cheie

Trump did give Woodward copies of the letters he received from Kim, but reportedly warned him during a December 2019 interview, “don’t say I gave them to you.”

Woodward dictated the contents of the letters into a tape recorder, but noted there were no markings suggesting they were classified, according to the Post.

The letters between Trump and Kim were reportedly among the records in 15 boxes of documents the National Archives recovered from Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort earlier this year, which the agency said were improperly removed from the White House.

The correspondences between Trump and Kim have commonly become known as “love letters” due to the flattering statements the two sent each other.

It’s not clear if any of the letters were among the 325 classified documents the FBI seized from Mar-A-Lago in an August 8 raid.

Fundalul cheie

Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in shipping White House records to Mar-A-Lago, claiming he declassified all the documents. But Trump, who a spus Sean Hannity last month he could declassify records just by “thinking about it,” has provided little evidence to back up his claims. The ex-president has attempted to limit which seized documents the Justice Department can access as part of an ongoing criminal investigation, but he’s had little success so far. Trump scored a win last month when a federal judge appointed un „maestru special” independent to review whether any of the documents should be shielded from prosecutors due to attorney-client privilege claims. But the Supreme Court shot down his request to grant the special master, Senior U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie, access to review classified records. Dearie has until November 12 to complete his review of the documents.

Citat crucial

“Where’s the beef? I need some beef,” Dearie a spus attorneys in a call with prosecutors and Trump’s attorneys Tuesday, suggesting that he’s received too little information from the DOJ to properly determine privilege claims.

Ce să urmăriți

Audio of the conversations between Woodward and Trump will be released next Tuesday as part of a new audiobook called “The Trump Tapes: Bob Woodward’s Twenty Interviews with President Trump.”

Lecturi suplimentare

New Woodward audiobook shows Trump knew Kim letters were classified (Washington Post)

Judecătorul este de partea lui Trump, acordă unui maestru special să examineze documentele Mar-A-Lago (Forbes)

Curtea Supremă hotărăște împotriva lui Trump despre documentele clasificate Mar-A-Lago (Forbes)

Special master Dearie unhappy with Mar-a-Lago document progress: ‘Where’s the beef? I need some beef’ (CNN)

Arhivele Naționale au luat 15 cutii de înregistrări ale Casei Albe de la Mar-A-Lago, care nu ar fi trebuit să fie niciodată acolo (Forbes)