Former Trump attorney Tim Parlatore suggested Wednesday evening that his previous client was "bluffing" or "joking" about having a national security-related document in an audio recording that was recently revealed in media reports, but stopped short of calling Trump a liar.
In a wide-ranging interview on MSNBC's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, Parlatore continued to defend Trump's actions in connection to classified documents that were purportedly kept without permission, and suggested Trump's defense might focus on forcing the government to define every single classified file that had been seized. Earlier in the day, during an appearance on CNN, host Poppy Harlow grilled Parlatore over his insistence that Trump did nothing illegal when there appears to be a plethora of evidence suggesting otherwise.
Speaking to O'Donnel, Parlatore said the Department of Defense and others associated with the reported letter have "denied that such a letter exists." He then said Trump was telling non-truths about the whole situation.
"So, is it one of those things where he, is you, know bluffing, or joking, saying yeah I've got something to prove..."
O'Donnel then interrupted, and suggested Trump is a liar. Parlatore partially fought him on that.
"People use a word other than bluffing for what Donald Trump says when it is not true," O'Donnel said.
Parlatore then replied, "He is my former client. I won't to use that word."
Parlatore also said he and the Trump team acknowledge that the two-state grand jury panels in D.C. and Florida mean the special counsel is considering bringing charges against Trump.
