Trump attorneys haven’t found classified document referred to on tape: report

Attorneys for former President Trump have not found the classified document he was recorded discussing taking from the White House, CNN reported Friday. 

Two sources told the outlet that the attorneys provided material to the FBI in response to a subpoena in March related to the document Trump discussed, but they did not find the document itself. 

CNN first reported Wednesday that that the Justice Department (DOJ) obtained an audio recording of Trump talking about the document while at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., in July 2021. The document reportedly came from now-outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and discussed a potential U.S. attack on Iran. 

Sources told the outlet that prosecutors were seeking “any and all” documents and materials related to Milley and Iran, including maps and any invasion plans. Prosecutors also sent a similar subpoena to at least one other person who was present at the meeting in Bedminster. 

The sources said prosecutors specifically noted to Trump’s attorneys that they wanted the document Trump described on the audio recording and any classified materials that he might still have. 

The Hill has reached out to a Trump spokesperson for comment. 

The former president brushed off the reports that DOJ had the recording during a town hall with Fox News’s Sean Hannity in Iowa on Thursday. 

“I don’t know anything about it. All I know is this: Everything I did was right,” he said. 

Trump has defended himself in the investigation over the classified and sensitive documents that were found at his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Fla., arguing he had already declassified them all. 

But former Trump White House attorney Ty Cobb said Wednesday that the recording undermines his defenses for a possible case against him, because it shows him recognizing limits on what he was allowed to do with the documents.