Trump Said to Have Revealed Nuclear Submarine Secrets to Australian Businessman – The New York Times
Shortly after he left office, former President Donald J. Trump shared apparently classified information about American nuclear submarines with an Australian businessman during an evening of conversation at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Florida, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The businessman, Anthony Pratt, a billionaire member of Mar-a-Lago who runs one of the worlds largest cardboard companies, went on to share the sensitive details about the submarines with several others, the people said. Mr. Trumps disclosures, they said, potentially endangered the U.S. nuclear fleet.
Federal prosecutors working for the special counsel, Jack Smith, learned about Mr. Trumps disclosures of the secrets to Mr. Pratt, which were first revealed by ABC News, and interviewed him as part of their investigation into the former presidents handling of classified documents, the people said.
According to another person familiar with the matter, Mr. Pratt is now among more than 80 people whom prosecutors have identified as possible witnesses who could testify against Mr. Trump at the classified documents trial, which is scheduled to start in May in Federal District Court in Fort Pierce, Fla.
Mr. Pratts name does not appear in the indictment accusing Mr. Trump of illegally holding on to nearly three dozen classified documents after he left office and then conspiring with two of his aides at Mar-a-Lago to obstruct the governments attempts to get them back.
But the account that Mr. Trump discussed some of the countrys most sensitive nuclear secrets with him in a cavalier fashion could help prosecutors establish that the former president had a long habit of recklessly handling classified information.
And the existence of the testimony about the conversation underscores how much additional information the special prosecutors office may have amassed out of the publics view.
During his talk with Mr. Pratt, Mr. Trump revealed at least two pieces of critical information about the U.S. submarines tactical capacities, according to the people familiar with the matter. Those included how many nuclear warheads the vessels carried and how close they could get to their Russian counterparts without being detected.
It does not appear that Mr. Trump showed Mr. Pratt any of the classified documents that he had been keeping at Mar-a-Lago. In August last year, the F.B.I. carried out a court-approved search warrant at the property and hauled away more than 100 documents containing national security secrets, including some that bore the countrys most sensitive classification markings.
Mr. Trump had earlier returned hundreds of other documents he had taken with him from the White House, some in response to a subpoena.
A spokesman for Mr. Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for Mr. Smith declined to comment. Representatives for Mr. Pratt did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Even though Mr. Pratt has been interviewed by prosecutors, the people familiar with the matter said, it remained unclear whether Mr. Trump was merely blustering or exaggerating in his conversation with him.
Joe Hockey, a former Australian ambassador to the United States, sought to play down Mr. Trumps disclosures to Mr. Pratt in a phone interview on Thursday.
If thats all that was discussed, we already know all that, Mr. Hockey said. We have had Australians serving with Americans on U.S. submarines for years, and we share the same technology and the same weapons as the U.S. Navy.
Still, Mr. Trump has been known to share classified information verbally on other occasions. During an Oval Office meeting in 2017 shortly after he fired the F.B.I. director James B. Comey, Mr. Trump revealed sensitive classified intelligence to two Russian officials, according to people briefed on the matter.
Well into his presidency, he also posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, a classified photo of an Iranian launch site.
The indictment in the documents case also accused Mr. Trump of showing a classified battle plan to attack Iran to a group of visitors to his club in Bedminster, N.J. Prosecutors claim that a recording of the meeting with the visitors depicts Mr. Trump as describing the document he brandished as secret.
Mr. Trump has not had access to more updated U.S. intelligence since leaving the presidency; President Biden cut off the briefings that former presidents traditionally get when Mr. Trump left office in the wake of Mr. Trumps efforts to overturn the election and the attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6, 2021.
I just think that there is no need for him to have the intelligence briefings, Mr. Biden said at the time.
What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? he said. What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?
Mr. Trumps interactions with Mr. Pratt appear to fit a pattern of the former presidents collapsing his public office and its secrets into his private interests.
Mr. Pratt cultivated a relationship with Mr. Trump once he became president. He joined Mar-a-Lago in 2017, then was invited to a state dinner and had Mr. Trump join him at one of his companys plants in Ohio.
Here is the original post:
Trump Said to Have Revealed Nuclear Submarine Secrets to Australian Businessman - The New York Times
- Trump can still serve as president if he's convicted of a crime - The Washington Post - The Washington Post - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- NY AG Letitia James is not done with Donald Trump - Business Insider - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Opinion | What Worries Me Most About a Trump Presidency - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Joe Biden is now beating Donald Trump in the majority of polls - Newsweek - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Election Live Updates: Abortion and Inflation Raise Issues for Biden and Trump - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Sebastian Stan Transforms Into Young Donald Trump in The Apprentice First Look - Variety - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump could face prison time if he is convicted in upcoming NY hush money trial - USA TODAY - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump's Stock Has Lost More Than Half Its Value Since Going Public - Newsweek - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump booted from prestigious list of billionaires after Truth Social parent's swan dive - Fortune - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Movie The Apprentice to Premiere at Cannes: First Look and What We Know - Hollywood Reporter - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Election Updates: Trump says he would not sign a federal abortion ban if elected. - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Trump is first ex-U.S. president on trial, but other nations have done it - The Washington Post - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- 'The Apprentice' First Look: Sebastian Stan Is a Young Donald Trump Building His Empire - IndieWire - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Johnson to Join Trump at Mar-a-Lago for 'Election Integrity' Announcement - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Stormy Daniels, Donald Trump, and the start of the hush money trial podcast - The Guardian - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Trump fails to delay N.Y. criminal trial for a third time this week - The Washington Post - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Why Biden Raising More Money Than Trump for the 2024 Election Matters - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- How Voters Describe the 2024 Election in One Word - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump biopic and new films by Yorgos Lanthimos and Andrea Arnold to premiere at Cannes - The Guardian - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- What Is Trumps Weakness? Biden Seizes on Abortion to Attack GOP Rival - Bloomberg - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Fox News Hosts Argue Over Donald Trump Going To Prison - Newsweek - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Opinion | Impromptu podcast: Columnists on presidential campaign 2024 - The Washington Post - The Washington Post - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- A total eclipse of Donald Trump: First felony trial could finally humble him - Salon - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- 'Donald Trump did this': New Biden abortion ad features a woman who says she almost died because of the Texas ban - NBC News - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Backed Over Bond Reduction - Newsweek - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Election 2024 latest news: Biden campaign keeps focus on abortion with new Arizona ad buy - The Washington Post - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Trump campaign changes election rules to try to win in 2024 - The Week - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trumps Hush-Money Trial: What to Know - TIME - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Opinion | How the Pro-Life Movements Deal With Trump Made America More Pro-Choice - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- The Apprentice: First Look At Sebastian Stan As Donald Trump & Jeremy Strong As Roy Cohn In Cannes Competition Film - Deadline - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Threatens to Start a Global Protection Racket - The Nation - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Trump's New York hush-money case will start March 25. It's the first of his criminal trials - The Associated Press - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Trump's Threat to NATO Is the Scariest Kind of Gaffe: It's Real - The New Yorker - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- N.Y. judge orders Trump and executives to pay $364 million in civil fraud case - NPR - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- How will Donald Trump pay the $438m he owes in penalties from civil trials? - The Guardian US - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump ordered to pay $354 million in New York real estate fraud lawsuit - USA TODAY - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump NY case ruling: Judge rules Donald Trump, Eric and Don Jr. must pay $354 million in New York civil fraud trial - WLS-TV - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump and associates ordered to pay $364mn in New York fraud case - Financial Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump ordered to pay over $350m in New York financial fraud case - The Guardian US - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Who Is Arthur Engoron, the Judge Who Penalized Donald Trump? - The New York Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- The Civil Fraud Ruling on Donald Trump, Annotated - The New York Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump pivots Laura Ingraham town hall from Spartanburg to Greenville - Greenville News - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Trump's Harsh Punishment Was Made Possible by This New York Law - The New York Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Judge rules Donald Trump owes over $350M in civil fraud trial, issues 3-year ban from doing business in New York - WABC-TV - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Trump ordered to pay over $350M for business fraud - POLITICO - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- After Report of Navalny Death, Haley Attacks Trump Over Past Praise for Putin - The New York Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Why Don Jr. and Eric Are in Trouble in the New Trump Rulingand Ivanka Is Not - Slate - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Hit With $355M Fraud Trial Judgment; Banned From Doing Business In New York For Years - Deadline - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Trump has been ordered to pay $447 million in damages. Can he afford it? - Vox.com - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- For Trump, Friday's verdict is not just business. It's personal. - POLITICO - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- READ: The Bombshell Verdict Ordering Trump to Pay $364 Million - The Daily Beast - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- No, Donald Trump is not Americas Navalny - The Washington Post - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Toby Keith's 'Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue' lives on in MAGA country - NPR - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump ordered to pay $355M, barred from NY business in civil fraud case - New York Post - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump civil fraud ruling: The $355 million fine and business restrictions could end the Trump organization as ... - Slate - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Highlights From a Key Hearing in Trump's Manhattan Criminal Case - The New York Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Read the full ruling from Judge Engoron in Trump's civil fraud trial - The Washington Post - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Eric, Donald Trump Jr. face weaker penalties in fraud trial verdict - Business Insider - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- How Donald Trump is making the GOP the party of Putin - MSNBC - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Trump's Bank Fraud Trial Ends With $364 Million Gut Punch - The Daily Beast - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump faces many signs of potential political trouble; here are a few of them - USA TODAY - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Mary Trump Makes Bad Prediction for Donald Trump - Newsweek - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Where is Donald Trump facing 14th Amendment challenges? - Yahoo News - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Something Stinks: Why #TrumpSmells Is Trending On X - Yahoo Entertainment - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- GOP senators who voted to acquit Trump insist they dont regret it - The Hill - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Donald Trump says he is 'not a student of Hitler,' won't rule as a dictator - ABC News - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Donald Trump calls on court to block federal 2020 election charges - The Columbus Dispatch - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Lindsey Graham warns Donald Trump could lose in 2024 if he focuses on 2020 election - USA TODAY - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Opinion | 'Donald Trump Is No Moderate' - The New York Times - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- John Roberts, Donald Trump and the ghosts of Bush v. Gore - POLITICO - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- How the 14th Amendment could block Donald Trump from becoming president - WBUR News - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Howey: Donald Trump and the insurrection fallout - Courier & Press - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Donald Trump's history with Adolf Hitler and his Nazi writings: ANALYSIS - ABC News - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Trump asks appeals court to toss election interference case, arguing that he's immune - NPR - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Colorado Trump ruling leads to rise in violent online rhetoric - NPR - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Trump claims he's never read Hitler's 'Mein Kampf,' as he doubles down on anti-immigrant phrase - ABC News - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- GOP Floats Tucker Carlson As Donald Trump's 2024 Vice President Pick - The Daily Beast - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Trump allies and MAGA luminaries move to kill off the Haley-for-VP buzz - POLITICO - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Donald Trump said an ad used AI to make him look bad. The clips are real. - Tampa Bay Times - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Trump Asks Appeals Court to Toss Election Case on Immunity Grounds - The New York Times - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]