Trump Acknowledged Kim Jong Un ‘Love Letters’ Weren’t Declassified In 2020 Interview
Topline
Former President Donald Trump refused to provide Washington Submit reporter Bob Woodward letters he despatched to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un when the journalist requested for them in January 2020, telling Woodward “these are so high secret,” in line with the Submit, regardless that he went on to reportedly ship the information to Mar-A-Lago in an alleged violation of the Presidential Information Act.
Then-President Donald Trump speaks to the press throughout a gathering on the White Home on October 2, … [+]
Key Info
Trump did give Woodward copies of the letters he obtained from Kim, however reportedly warned him throughout a December 2019 interview, “do not say I gave them to you.”
Woodward dictated the contents of the letters right into a tape recorder, however famous there have been no markings suggesting they had been categorised, in line with the Submit.
The letters between Trump and Kim had been reportedly among the many information in 15 bins of paperwork the Nationwide Archives recovered from Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort earlier this 12 months, which the company mentioned had been improperly faraway from the White Home.
The correspondences between Trump and Kim have generally turn out to be often called “love letters” because of the flattering statements the 2 despatched one another.
It isn’t clear if any of the letters had been among the many 325 categorised paperwork the FBI seized from Mar-A-Lago in an August 8 raid.
Key Background
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in delivery White Home information to Mar-A-Lago, claiming he declassified all of the paperwork. However Trump, who instructed Sean Hannity final month he may declassify information simply by “fascinated about it,” has offered little proof to again up his claims. The ex-president has tried to restrict which seized paperwork the Justice Division can entry as a part of an ongoing legal investigation, however he is had little success up to now. Trump scored a win final month when a federal decide appointed an impartial “particular grasp” to evaluation whether or not any of the paperwork must be shielded from prosecutors attributable to attorney-client privilege claims. However the Supreme Court docket shot down his request to grant the particular grasp, Senior U.S. District Decide Raymond Dearie, entry to evaluation categorised information. Dearie has till November 12 to finish his evaluation of the paperwork.
Essential Quote
“The place’s the meat? I want some beef,” Dearie instructed attorneys in a name with prosecutors and Trump’s attorneys Tuesday, suggesting that he is obtained too little data from the DOJ to correctly decide privilege claims.
What To Watch For
Audio of the conversations between Woodward and Trump can be launched subsequent Tuesday as a part of a brand new audiobook known as “The Trump Tapes: Bob Woodward’s Twenty Interviews with President Trump.”
Additional Studying
New Woodward audiobook exhibits Trump knew Kim letters had been categorised (Washington Submit)
Decide Sides With Trump, Grants Particular Grasp To Evaluation Mar-A-Lago Paperwork (Forbes)
Supreme Court docket Guidelines Towards Trump On Mar-A-Lago Categorized Paperwork (Forbes)
Particular grasp Dearie sad with Mar-a-Lago doc progress: ‘The place’s the meat? I want some beef’ (CNN)
