Audio tape of Trump appears to contain classified docs conversation that may shape DOJ indictment

An audio recording of former President Donald Trump appears to contain discussion of his possession of classified materials and his belief that he had not declassified at least one of the documents in his possession while president.

The two-minute recording, that CNN obtained, includes Trump bantering with an aide and a writer, largely over a document involving the military and a dispute between Trump and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley over attacking Iran. The recording seems to capture Trump rifling through papers and holding a document with plans to attack Iran.

Milley has claimed he argued against attacking Iran due to concerns that doing so would trigger a broader conflict.

"He said that I wanted to attack Iran. Isn’t it amazing?" Trump says in the tape. "I have a big pile of papers, this thing just came up. Look. This was him. They presented me this – this is off the record but – they presented me this. This was him. This was the Defense Department and him."

"See as president I could have declassified it. Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret," he continued.

Trump goes on to note the document is "highly confidential" and asserts that it "wins my case."

The tape further includes Trump and the aide pointing to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's own handling of sensitive materials.

Trump has contended that he had broad authority to declassify documents while president under an interpretation of the Presidential Records Act. He has further pointed to the Clinton socks case pertaining to former President Bill Clinton's removing sensitive materials from the White House that had been stored in his sock drawer.

The transcript of the tape first appeared in public as part of special counsel Jack Smith's indictment of Trump related to his alleged mishandling of classified materials. It is expected to play a key role in the prosecution's case.

Trump has previously contended he did not possess classified materials and that the papers he had were news clippings and articles.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.