Aussie link to secret file ‘found at Trump’s resort’
A classified document relating to an intelligence-sharing alliance of which Australia is a member is among documents allegedly found at Mar-A-Lago.
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Australia has been dragged into the drama surrounding Donald Trump’s indictment.
A classified document relating to an intelligence-sharing alliance of which Australia is a member was allegedly among documents in the former president Mar-A-Lago estate.
The document was alleged to have been labelled “SECRET//REL TO USA, FVEY”, a marking which denoted that the information in the document was releasable only to the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, consisting of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States”, according to the indictment.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong was tight-lipped about the revelation when questioned over the weekend, stating the Five Eyes intelligence alliance was “important” but refused to comment further.
Prosecution based on ‘mementos’
On Sunday Mr Trump’s lawyer slammed the federal charges as politically motivated prosecution based on declassified files and personal “mementos,”, days before his scheduled arraignment in a Florida court.
Mr Trump is facing 37 charges, including violations of the Espionage Act, making false statements and conspiracy regarding his mishandling of classified material – the most serious legal jeopardy the Republican has faced. His arraignment is set for Tuesday, at a federal court in Miami.
The indictment includes photos of where Mr Trump allegedly stored boxes containing the documents at his Florida resort and pictures of the documents strewn across the floor.
His lawyer Alina Habba argued Mr Trump had done “nothing wrong” and would not take a plea deal to minimise fallout from the case as he seeks his party’s nomination for the 2024 election.
“He would never admit guilt, because there was nothing wrong with declassifying documents,” Ms Habba told talk show Fox News Sunday.
“This is completely politically motivated. It’s election interference at its best.”
Ms Habba also portrayed Mr Trump’s opposition to federal agents searching and seizing materials in his Mar-a-Lago home as frustration over officials going through his personal effects.
“He has every right to have classified documents that he declassified … things that are mementos, things that he has a right to take,” she said.
“So if I’m someone with documents that I have a right to have as the president who left the White House, do I want people rummaging through my personal items? No.”
But Mr Trump’s one-time ally Bill Barr said his former boss faced “solid counts” filed by the Department of Justice and that Mr Trump was not a victim of a witch hunt, as the former leader repeatedly insisted.
“The idea that the president has complete authority to declare any document personal is … ridiculous,” Mr Barr told Fox News.
If even half the indictment is true, “then he’s toast,” Barr added. “It’s very, very damning.”
‘Still a secret’
The charges each carry up to 20 years in prison.
In its indictment, the Justice Department described evidence including an audio recording from a July 2021 meeting that Mr Trump, who was no longer president, had with an author, a publisher and two of his staff – none of whom had a US security clearance. During the meeting Mr Trump allegedly showed them what he called a “secret” and “highly confidential” document.
“This is secret information … See as president I could have declassified it,” Mr Trump said according to the indictment. “Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.”
A defiant Mr Trump attended Republican events Saturday, telling a GOP convention in North Carolina that the legal attack against him was being waged by “crazy lunatics.”
“The baseless indictment of me by the Biden administration’s weaponised department of injustice will go down as among the most horrific abuses of power in the history of our country,” he said.
The twice-impeached Mr Trump, who turns 77 on Wednesday, handily leads the Republican race to see who will challenge President Joe Biden in 2024.
An ABC-Ipsos poll released Sunday highlighted the country’s political polarisation over the indictment, finding that 48 per cent of Americans think Mr Trump should have been charged, while 47 per cent believe the charges are politically motivated.
The poll of 910 random US adults in the aftermath of the indictment also shows a solid majority 61 per cent find the charges very or somewhat serious, while 28 per cent say the charges are not too serious or not serious at all.
His campaign announced Sunday that the former president planned to make remarks at his golf club in New Jersey on Tuesday evening after the arraignment – some 2000 kilometres away from the courthouse in Miami.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said the city would have a press conference Monday to address security surrounding Mr Trump’s court appearance.
All Miamians will “be able to express their First Amendment rights,” he told Fox News, adding: “We’re going to make sure that there is no disorder.”
carla.mascarenhas@news.com.au
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