Recording Suggests Trump Knew Document He Kept Was Classified, Reports Say

Federal prosecutors have a recording of former President Donald Trump discussing a classified Pentagon document he took from the White House after his term ended, multiple reports said. 

The Details: The recording pertains to a July 2021 meeting with two individuals working on former chief of staff Mark Meadows’ autobiography. Sources cited by CNN (Lean Left bias), which first reported the story, said the recording “indicates Trump understood he retained classified material after leaving the White House,” and suggests “he would like to share the information but he’s aware of limitations on his ability post-presidency to declassify records.” While multiple outlets confirmed the story, AllSides found no news source that had reviewed the audio itself.

For Context: The Justice Department is investigating whether Trump broke the law by retaining classified documents, many of which were obtained by the government when the FBI executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago in August 2022. On Wednesday, Trump lawyer James Trusty repeated the claim that the former president had declassified the documents, arguing on CNN that the “leak-based” recording story was an example of “persecution.”

How the Media Covered It: Coverage was often featured prominently in news sources on the left. On the other hand, Fox News (Right bias) did not appear to cover the story at all by Thursday morning. While most coverage focused on potential legal ramifications for Trump, The Post Millennial (Lean Right bias) framed the use of classified documents for post-presidential term books as routine.