CNN Reporter Bombards Trump With Shouted Questions About Bombshell Report: ‘How Did Those Documents Get To Bedminster, Sir?’

Tommy ChristopherJun 3rd, 2023, 9:19 am

CNN Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny bombarded ex-President Donald Trump with questions about the bombshell recording of Trump discussing a classified document at his Bedminster golf club.

CNN broke the news Wednesday afternoon that Trump was caught on tape discussing a classified document that he had taken with him when he left the White House — and the Justice Department investigation headed by Special Counsel Jack Smith now has that tape in its possession.

The tape reportedly depicts Trump reportedly acknowledging he can’t show the document — which outlines a plan to invade Iran — to his visitors at Bedminster because of the classification attached to it.

On Thursday night’s edition of CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, host Anderson Cooper talked with Kaitlan Collins, who broke the story, and played some tape of Zeleny peppering Trump with questions about the document in question:

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, and he has commented on the documents, as he did multiple times at our townhall, and I remember after that, when I’d asked him if he’d ever shown the documents to anyone, and he said, not really.

We obviously followed up with members of his legal team, asking about that comment, and so we do know at this point that they were aware during that townhall of this audio recording where Trump was talking about what we believe is classified information with other people, making clear he couldn’t show it to them.

So they have been aware behind the scenes that this is something that was in the special counsel’s possession. I think it’s notable that he stayed silent on it today. He only commented at one print outlet, “The Cedar Rapid’s Gazette” saying it was fake news, but not really disputing the heart of the reporting.

I think this has caused a lot of consternation among members of his legal team. I don’t think all of them were fully aware that Jack Smith’s team had this recording, but it raises real issues because you’ve seen Trump’s attorneys last night, one who is still on his team today, one who is no longer on the team, having a difficult time explaining their past explanations and standing by them, because they’re undercut by what he says in the document according to what our sources are — or on the recording — according to what our sources tell us.

COOPER: I just want to play CNN’s Jeff Zeleny yelled some questions at the former president. Let’s just play that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Mr. President, why did you take classified documents concerning General Milley? Mr. President, why did you take classified documents concerning General Milley?

Can you talk about that please, Mr. President.

Mr. President, how did those documents get to Bedminster, sir? Mr. President, will you talk to us about the classified documents?

How did those documents get to Bedminster, sir?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: so I mean, we’ve talked before, Alyssa, about the former president wanting to keep documents or wanting to keep some documents. Does it make sense to you what we have now learned yesterday?

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: This latest reporting is probably the most damning around the classified documents. I mean, obviously the former president’s argument hinged on this notion of he could declassify anything, and that anything that he had in his possession had been declassified. But in this, he obviously acknowledges that he knows that he can’t simply classify things. There is a process. I’ve said before when I was serving in the West Wing, there were a number of times he wanted to declassify documents and he ran through the hoops of trying to do that.

Talking to his national security adviser, his then director of National Intelligence, and I can think of a number of cases where we weren’t able to declassify something because of the hoops he would have to jump through.

He knows how this process works.