We learned last week that prosecutors investigating former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents have obtained a July 2021 voice recording of Trump reportedly describing a classified document he kept at his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago. (News that federal officials had obtained the audio recording was first reported by CNN. NBC News has not heard the recording.) The reports generated a great deal of excitement among those waiting to see if federal charges will be brought against the former president.
Some believe that the tape makes the case for the special counsel. But does it?
The voice recording was created by Trump’s own assistant during an interview of Trump by aides to his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, who was writing a book. On the recording, Trump reportedly talked about a document in his possession — believed to be a memo by Gen. Mark Milley about U.S.’s options to take military action against Iran — that Trump described as still classified. This admission, if true, would contradict Trump’s prior assertions that documents he removed from the White House were, by definition, no longer classified.
Some believe that the tape makes the case for the special counsel Jack Smith. But does it?
It is true that the existence of a voice recording can be devastating for a defendant. In March, jurors took only three hours to convict South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh of murdering his wife and son. Murdaugh’s defense had fallen apart when investigators discovered his voice on his murdered son’s cellphone recording at the crime scene shortly before the murders, contradicting Murdaugh’s alibi. And Trump’s fate in the Fulton County, Georgia, district attorney’s criminal investigation regarding potential election interference revolves largely around the recording of his telephone call urging Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes.”
A voice recording of a target of a criminal investigation…
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