'Virtual confessions': Expert says Trump exposed 'criminal state of mind' to right-wing radio host

Donald Trump made a "virtual confession" to illegally holding on to classified documents in a recent interview with a conservative broadcaster, according to a legal expert.

The former president told right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt on Wednesday that the Presidential Records Act essentially allowed him to do whatever he wanted with classified materials, but lawyers say he was mischaracterizing the law to justify his retention of top-secret government documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort, reported Salon.

"He has things upside-down when he invokes that Act, which isn't a criminal statute and confers no immunity from criminal prosecution, to defend his conduct," said Harvard constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe. "If anything, the details of that act help defeat all his claims with respect to being entitled to withhold top secret documents and national defense documents from the federal government."

The Presidential Records Act made clear his authority to retain documents that had not been properly declassified came to an end once he left the White House, and the law requires them to return those records to the National Archives upon leaving office.

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"Trump's belief that he 'can do whatever he wants' is dangerous and how autocrats rule," said former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani.

Trump ignored a subpoena for the records issued by the Department of Justice, despite warnings that his home could be searched by the FBI, and experts say his comments to Hewitt could be used against him in court.

"His statements can be presented in court as evidence that he doesn't think the law applies to him," Rahmani said. "Trump lawyers have probably advised him to keep his mouth shut, but Trump is notorious for ignoring his lawyers' advice, which is why he's in this mess."

Tribe described the interview as "virtual confessions" rather than a legal defense.

"At a minimum, they help establish his criminal state of mind with respect to the documents he withheld and his obstruction of justice regarding the retention of those documents," Tribe said.