Former President
Trump claiming
he knows nothing about a 20, 21 meeting.
Federal prosecutors have on tape.
CNN reports that Trump
acknowledged in the meeting
at his New Jersey golf club
he still has
a classified Pentagon document
about a potential attack plan on Iran.
This was his denial last night on Fox
You know, I don't know anything about it.
All I know is,
is everything I did was right.
We have the Presidential Records Act,
which I abided by 100%.
It's a continuation
of the greatest witch hunt of all time.
It's a hoax.
And it has to do
It has to do
more than anything else
with trying to interfere
with the election.
For more on the meeting
and the federal investigation,
let's turn to CNN's
Paula Reid in Washington.
Former
President Donald Trump
campaigning in Iowa,
refusing to take questions
on the bombshell revelation
he was recorded discussing
classified information.
Mr.
President, why did you take classified
documents concerning General
but continued to claim
he's a victim of federal investigators?
I'm a victim of it.
They've come after me.
They've come after me on many things.
I wrote this after CNN's exclusive
reporting that prosecutors
now have an audio recording of Trump
talking about a classified plan
to invade Iran
while he was at his Bedminster Golf Club.
Months after he left the White House.
Among those
attending the meeting,
several Trump aides
and two people
working on an autobiography
for former White House chief of staff
Mark Meadows.
None of them had security clearances.
During this time, Trump had aides
record his conversation
with journalists and writers.
They became automatically declassified
when I took them.
Trump,
under investigation for his handling
of national security secrets,
has previously insisted
that he declassified
any sensitive material in his possession.
If you're the president
of the United States,
you can declassify just by saying
it's declassified.
Even by thinking about it
But sources
tell CNN
on this recording,
Trump claims to still be in possession
of a Pentagon document, suggests
he would like to share it.
And then acknowledges
the limits of his ability
to declassify it.
All of this undercutting his own defense.
Asked
if he had ever shared
any information at CNN's town hall.
Not really. I would have the right to.
By the way, they would dismiss if I did.
Not that I can think of.
Let me just tell you,
I have the absolute right
to do whatever I want with them.
This summer, 20, 21 recording
comes out of Trump's
New Jersey golf club.
It's now
the second confirmed state
where he has had classified information
after the FBI walked
out of his Mar-A-Lago
estate in Florida
with boxes of top secret documents.
The Trump campaign saying the DOJ's
continued interference
in the presidential
election is shameful
and this meritless investigation
should cease wasting
the American taxpayer's money
on Democrat political objectives.
When we searched Bedminster,
there were no classified documents
or marked documents there.
Former Trump lawyer
Tim Latorre,
who left Trump's
legal team
in recent weeks,
says the classification
status of the document
Trump is heard
talking about is irrelevant
based on the laws
that are cited in the search warrant
that was executed in summer.
20, 22.
Really, what DOJ is investigating
is willful retention
of national defense information,
whether it's classified or declassified,
is not an element of that offense.
Former President
Trump's lawyers have asked for a meeting
with Attorney General Merrick Garland
to express their concerns
about the special counsel's
investigation.
But one of Trump's attorneys
tells CNN
there have been some communications
between DOJ
and the Trump legal team
about the possibility of this meeting.
But the fact that there is this
recording in the hands of investigators
really undercuts
their key concern,
which is an allegation
that this is just
a politically motivated investigation.
But if they do get this meeting
with the attorney general
or some other Justice
Department official,
they will clearly have much to discuss.
Polaroid, CNN, Washington.
The GOP field of candidates is growing
and it's about to get even bigger.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny live in Des
Moines, Iowa, this morning.
Jeff,
where President Trump
was campaigning in Iowa
yesterday
and talked about his competitors.
How does he see the field
Hey, good morning.
How the field is getting bigger
in next week alone.
Three Republican candidates
are set to join the race.
In fact, there are so many alternatives
to Donald Trump.
It is benefiting one person of all.
And that's the former president,
which is exactly what he's counting on.
And we presume
so far,
Donald Trump is getting most
everything he wanted from
the Republican presidential campaign.
There's no way I can lose Iowa.
Let's see what happens.
I don't think so.
We'd have to
we'd have to do some really bad things
to lose at this point,
including a list of rivals
that's growing by the week
with the anyone
but Trump
lane of the race
becoming remarkably crowded
I think it's advantageous to Trump.
I don't like that.
Julie Marla is a loyal Republican
who came to see Florida Governor Ron
DeSantis the other night
and is sizing up several contenders.
But she offered pointed words of advice
for those entering the race.
Stay for a while and see what happens,
but then don't stay too long
because we need
we need to face the Democrats.
As summer approaches,
the Republican field is starting
to burst at the seams,
with former Vice President
Mike Pence and former New Jersey Governor
Chris Christie set to jump in next week,
joining former Governor Nikki
Haley and Senator Tim
Scott of South Carolina.
Former Arkansas
Governor Asa
Hutchinson and entrepreneur
Vivek Ramaswamy,
who are already in the race.
North Dakota
Governor Doug Burgum is also poised
to announce next week.
And New Hampshire
Governor Chris
Sununu promises a decision soon.
And Virginia
Governor Glenn
Youngkin is not ruling out a run later
this year.
If some contenders flame out, well,
if that many candidates
stay in the race that benefits Trump,
Trump will win by the power division
And that's
why we'll see
if we learned our lesson,
learned our lesson well.
Bob Vander
Plaats, an influential evangelical
leader in Iowa,
said the party should not repeat
the mistakes of 2016
when Trump claimed the nomination
with a divided Republican electorate,
rather than facing a head to head
match with one strong opponent.
So my concern is so how many get in?
It's when do they get out and win?
And when do they give America
a clear choice
between the former president
and an alternative,
a big field is precisely
what Trump is banking on and basking in.
As he shook hands
and took questions
at a series of small events in Iowa
while making clear
he's fixated on one rival above all Iran,
as I call him Ron to sanctimonious,
the former
president seized upon a leading argument
DeSantis made to voters here this week.
We could bring back George Washington.
I don't know that
he would be able to get it done in
just four years
and sought to mock
the Florida governor's pitch
that he's eligible for two terms,
not simply one more like Trump.
You'll need eight years.
You need six months.
We can turn this thing around so quickly.
Who the hell wants to wait eight years?
You don't need eight years.
And in New Hampshire Thursday,
two centers hitting back at Trump.
Why didn't he do it his first four years?
As the campaign intensifies,
signs are emerging
that it's far too early
to presume it's a two man contest.
As candidates begin
blanketing the state
that begins
the Republican nomination battle early
next year.
Laurie Hartson also believes
the field is cluttered in her mind.
It's already a one man race
President Trump already made
America great.
Now we need him back to fix it.
She drove 4 hours
to catch a glimpse
of the former president
outside one of his Iowa stops.
Do you think that others
should step aside
and let him run
and focus on President Biden?
Or do you think a competitive Republican
primary is fine, let you leave?
I wish they would step aside,
but they won't.
And I don't know if it's ego they want.
And Mark him coming
in, it's like,
come on, Mike Pence, really?
Mike, give it up.
So that
sentiment, of
course, is
expressing the challenges facing
former Vice
President Mike Pence
as he announces his bid here in Iowa.
Next week.
There are also many Republicans
we've spoken to who
welcome his true conservative views.
And he also is reaching out
to evangelical voters
who are, of course,
very important to this core.
So we're virtually
all of the candidates
back in Iowa
this weekend,
with the exception of Donald Trump.
They have an event
at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.
So Republican voters
have many options to choose.
And that is specifically
what worries
some of the voters
who are looking to turn the page.
Well, Jeff, it's interesting
because you say in your piece
you know,
it may be too early to say
it's a two man race.
Walk us through
some of these other candidates,
because I think there
is this question
about do
any of the other candidates
have a real shot
other than Trump and DeSantis
Sure.
That's what the campaign is all about.
And here
we're just the beginning of June.
The candidates who are out working,
talking to voters, Nikki Haley, for one,
she's been having more events
here in Iowa,
the former South Carolina governor,
than virtually any other candidate.
She's gaining a bit of traction.
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott.
His name comes up again and again
and he has a lot of money
behind his candidacy.
He's already
running television
ads here on the air in Iowa.
So, look,
this is the season of where voters are
are shopping, if you will, looking at all
these potential candidates.
And yes, Trump is leading the race.
He is the leading candidate,
but he's not the presumptive nominee.
It is far too soon to say that.
One thing about Iowa.
The history of it
shows that the frontrunners are often
humbled here.
Many people
who come into Iowa back in 2008
for example, Rudy Giuliani,
he was seen as a frontrunner.
Of course, he fizzled.
The list of that is long.
So the state is known
for elevating challengers.
Humbling frontrunners.
We will see what happens this time.
That is a very interesting
historical nugget.
Jeff Zeleny, thank you.