According to US media, the former president is said to have discussed the matter with Australian businessman Anthony Pratt
Former US President Donald Trump is said to have shared confidential information about US nuclear submarines with an Australian businessman, ABC News and the New York Times reported on Thursday (October 5, 2023).
The conversation between Trump and Anthony Pratt reportedly took place at MaraLago, the Republican’s luxury resort in Palm Beach, Florida, after the former president left the White House.
Pratt runs Pratt Industries, one of the largest packaging companies in the world. He reportedly told the Republican at the meeting, which reportedly took place in April 2021, that Australia should start buying submarines from the US.
In response, Trump told the businessman the exact number of nuclear warheads U.S. submarines routinely carry and how close the equipment can get to Russian submersibles without being detected.
Pratt would then have shared the information with at least 45 people. These include 6 journalists, 11 employees of their company, 10 Australian authorities and 3 former prime ministers of Australia.
The case was reported to the team of US special investigator Jack Smith. He is in charge of investigating the Republican’s retention of secret documents after the files were found at his MaraLago home. According to ABC News, prosecutors and FBI agents have interviewed Pratt at least twice about the case.
The businessman does not appear in the indictment. However, he may be called as a witness at the hearing on this case scheduled for May 2024.
According to North American Vehicles, the report could help prosecutors argue that the former president had a habit of being reckless with confidential information.
Understanding the case of documents
Trump faces 37 charges related to keeping classified files in his possession after he left the White House in 2021. These include crimes such as conspiracy to obstruct justice and withholding and concealing documents.
Most of the charges outlined in the 49page indictment, released June 9, relate to intentionally withholding national defense information, a violation of the Espionage Act, which governs rules governing the handling of classified documents. Read the full document (2 MB, in English).
The documents withheld by Trump contained information about the secret US nuclear program and possible vulnerabilities in the event of an attack, the federal indictment says.
According to the indictment, the materials came from the Pentagon, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies and were taken to MaraLago and Trump’s golf club in New York. Images from the indictment show that the Republican himself kept confidential material in the bathroom.
The former president pleaded not guilty to the charges. He also declared that the charges represented the “most vicious and despicable abuse of power in the history” of his country.