Former President Donald Trump on Oct. 22 rebutted reports that he spoke about confidential information with an Australian billionaire on Truth Social, after the story was amplified by coverage by The New York Times.
Submarines
In early October, ABC reported that the former president allegedly spoke about sensitive nuclear submarine information with a Mar-a-Lago member, who then shared the information with dozens more people. On Oct. 22, the NY Times and 60 Minutes Australia published reports that Mr. Pratt, one of the wealthiest people in Australia, was interviewed by special counsel Jack Smith regarding a case alleging that President Trump mishandled classified documents.Mr. Pratt, a potential witness, had voluntarily paid 200 times the price of tickets to attend a Mar-a-Lago New Year’s Eve gala for $1 million and was a great supporter of President Trump’s reelection effort, according to the reports. In interviews with the prosecution, Mr. Pratt claimed that President Trump shared details about his phone calls with world leaders as well as sensitive information such as that regarding the submarines, and he heavily criticized President Trump’s ethics.
A spokesperson for President Trump didn’t deny the content of the interviews but told the paper that the quotes “lack proper context.”
On Truth Social, President Trump denied that he spoke of the things that Mr. Pratt said that he had.
“I never spoke to him about Submarines, but I did speak to him about creating jobs in Ohio and Pennsylvania, because that’s what I’m all about—JOBS, A GREAT ECONOMY, LOW TAXES, NO INFLATION, ENERGY DOMINANCE, STRONG BORDERS, NO ENDLESS WARS, LOW INTEREST RATES, and much more!” he said.
The former president said the NY Times didn’t request a comment from him.
Documents Case
The historic case against President Trump is set to go to trial in May 2024, although his legal team is attempting to push the trial date until after the presidential elections.
In August 2022, his Mar-a-Lago estate was raided by the FBI with a search warrant for classified documents that had been subpoenaed. In June, President Trump was indicted for allegedly mishandling classified documents. He has pleaded not guilty to 40 counts and maintains that he did nothing wrong, having declassified the documents, and had the right to have them under the Presidential Records Act.
Jan. 6, 2021, Case
That case goes to trial on March 4, 2024, in Washington, although President Trump announced on Truth Social that he was seeking a change of venue.“Washington (D.C.) has become a dirty, crime-ridden death trap, that must be taken over and properly run by the Federal Government. It is, and will be, part of my Election Platform. We will clean it, renovate, and rebuild it—and, most importantly, MAKE IT SAFE,” he wrote.
“Right now, it is probably the most unsafe capital city anywhere in the World. With this in mind, there is NO WAY I can get a fair trial on a Biden, Election Interference Indictment, in D.C. Obviously, at the appropriate time, if this ridiculous case should be allowed to proceed forward, which is, according to legal scholars, very doubtful, I will be making a demand for a Venue Change!”
President Trump had previously requested that Judge Tanya Chutkan step down from the case, arguing that she was biased against him because of remarks that she had made in sentencing other people charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach event. She declined to do so.
Later, Judge Chutkan issued a gag order that would have prevented President Trump from speaking out against Mr. Smith regarding the case. However, it was unclear if such a prohibition would apply to comments about Mr. Smith regarding the Mar-a-Lago case, such as in the recent Truth Social post. The gag order was temporarily lifted by the judge while President Trump’s legal team appeals the order.
