“Wow.” That’s how an unidentified writer reacted when Donald Trump gave him a confidential plan to attack an unnamed nation in July 2021. A publisher and two Trump staff workers, neither of whom had a security clearance, were also present at the time. (fleshbot.com) According to an indictment accusing Trump of federal offenses, the gathering took place at the former US president’s golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Trump told his guests that the plan of attack had been developed for him by the Department of Defense and a top military officer and that as president, he had the authority to declassify the document he was holding.
“See as president I could have declassified it,” he said, according to a transcript in the indictment. “Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.”
The indictment details evidence acquired by Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team from witnesses and other sources over a two-year investigation into what government documents left the White House with the former president – and whether any crimes were committed.
According to the indictment, the records discovered during the investigation came from at least seven government departments, including the Central Intelligence Agency(CIA), the Department of Defense, the National Security Agency, the Department of Energy, and others.
Trump’s indictment is the first time a former president has faced federal criminal charges.