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Those who watch crime dramas tend to pick up on a common feature in many stories: Detectives invariably learn not to trust suspects who repeatedly change their stories. After all, innocent people tend not to rely on evolving narratives, since the truth is usually good enough.
With this in mind, the fact that Donald Trump keeps changing his story in the classified documents scandal should probably leave his supporters with an unsettling feeling.
The public has learned quite a bit in recent weeks about a 2021 meeting in Bedminster, New Jersey, where the former president discussed sensitive materials he took from the White House. The Republican’s comments were recorded, and portions of the transcript appeared in his federal criminal indictment.
In an interview with Fox News last week, host Bret Baier asked about this aspect of the controversy. Trump responded, “There was no document there. ... That was not a document, per se. There was nothing to declassify. These were newspaper stories, magazine stories and articles.” (It was in this same on-air appearance that he said he didn’t return subpoenaed materials because he was worried about losing some golf attire he had “interspersed” with the classified documents he allegedly stole.)
That line didn’t last long. As the public heard this week, the audio recording shows the former president conceding he took classified materials, knowingly kept the classified materials, deliberately showed highly sensitive materials to those who didn’t have the necessary clearance, and admitted he lacked the authority to declassify the documents he wasn’t supposed to have.
On Monday night, Trump responded to the revelations by claiming the tape was “actually an exoneration,” which was utterly bonkers. By Tuesday morning, he had a new line, conceding he kept, among other things, “copies of different plans“ in his desk. I’m still not sure how that was supposed to help his defense.
By Tuesday afternoon, the public was treated to yet another rhetorical creation. NBC News reported that Trump said that “it was bravado” when he was showing off papers.
“I would say it was bravado, if you want to know the truth. It was bravado,” he told Semafor and ABC News aboard his plane. “I was talking and just holding up papers and talking about them, but I had no documents,” he added. Asked about his earlier reference to “plans” in the papers, Trump insisted he was talking about other materials.
As part of the same on-the-record exchange, the former president went on to say, “Did I use the word plans? 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.”
In other words, with his new “bravado” defense, Trump would have us believe he was trying to impress people — in private, behind closed doors — by showing off classified documents that were not actually classified documents. It’s a defense rooted in the idea that he was lying at the time, but not now.
What’s more, we’re also supposed to believe that his references to “plans” might’ve had something to do with buildings and golf courses.
Oh my.
This need not be complicated. On the recording, we can obviously hear Trump shuffling through papers, and apparently presenting a war plan — which the former president describes as “highly confidential” — to a writer as part of his criticism of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this,” Trump said, adding, “Isn’t that incredible?” At one point, pointing to Pentagon documents, he also declared, “These are the papers. ... This was done by the military and given to me.”
He went on to say, “As president, I could have declassified. Now I can’t, but this is still a secret. ... It’s so cool.”
I appreciate the fact that Trump’s loyalists are prepared to go to great lengths to deny reality, but after hearing this recording, the former president decided the smart move would be to claim he “had no documents,” and suggest he merely had “plans of buildings.”
No matter how tightly one is wearing a red MAGA cap, this is literally unbelievable.
Of course, if recent history is any guide, the former president will come up with entirely new defenses over the course of today, replacing yesterday’s nonsense with new nonsense. I can hardly wait.