Former President Donald Trump is now claiming that his boasts about holding highly classified national defense information while talking to patrons at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey were just "bravado" — and all he really had in his hand were "building plans," according to Semafor.
"'I would say it was bravado, if you want to know the truth, it was bravado,' Trump said in an interview aboard his plane with Semafor and ABC News. 'I was talking and just holding up papers and talking about them, but I had no documents. I didn’t have any documents,'" reported Shelby Talcott. "The latest comments suggested a new potential legal argument from the former president: That he was overselling the material he was showing to an aide and people working on a biography of former chief of staff Mark Meadows in the recording, a transcript of which featured heavily in his recent federal indictment."
The problem is that Trump specifically referred to what he was holding as "plans" — which would line up with reporting that he was in possession of a draft attack plan against Iran. But he has an answer for that, too.
"Asked about his use of the word 'plans' during a Fox News interview earlier Tuesday to describe some items he may have highlighted in the 2021 meeting, Trump insisted he was referring to 'building plans' and plans for golf courses strewn about his desk," said the report. "'Did I use the word plans?' he said. 'What I’m referring to is magazines, newspapers, plans of buildings. I had plans of buildings. You know, building plans? I had plans of a golf course.'"
Trump added that he is confident he will be acquitted of all charges when asked whether he would consider a plea agreement.
His new defense largely contradicts his words on the tape acquired by CNN and former special counsel Jack Smith, in which he is clearly discussing classified information. Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe has suggested his only possible defense in light of the tape is to tell the jury he was simply lying.
