WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal prosecutors have a 2021 audio recording of former President Donald Trump acknowledging he kept a classified Pentagon document about a possible attack on Iran after leaving the White House, CNN reported on Wednesday.
CNN did not listen to the recording but cited unidentified multiple sources describing it. Reuters was not able to confirm the report.
The recording shows Trump, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, understood he retained classified material after he left the White House in 2021, according to the cable television network.
Trump’s remarks indicated he would like to share the information but was aware of the limitations on his ability to declassify documents after leaving office, two sources told CNN.
A Trump representative did not immediately return a request for comment. Peter Carr, the spokesman for Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office at the Justice Department, also did not immediately comment.
Smith is investigating Trump’s handling of classified documents, as well as efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Kanishka Singh; editing by Tim Ahmann)
