Former President Donald Trump on Sunday refuted reports that he spoke about confidential information with an Australian billionaire on Truth Social, after the story was amplified by coverage by The New York Times.
“The Failing New York Times story, leaked by Deranged Jack Smith and the Biden “Political Opponent Abuser” DOJ, about a red haired weirdo from Australia, named Anthony Pratt, is Fake News,” he wrote.
Submarines
Early October, ABC had reported that the former president allegedly spoke about sensitive nuclear submarine information with a Mar-a-Lago member, who then shared the information with dozens more people. On Sunday, the NY Times and 60 Minutes Australia published reports that Anthony Pratt, one of the wealthiest people in Australia, was interviewed by special counsel Jack Smith regarding a case alleging the former president mishandled classified documents.
Mr. Pratt, a potential witness, had voluntarily paid 200 times the price of tickets to attend a Mar-a-Lago New Year’s eve gala for $1 million, and was a great supporter of getting the former president reelected, according to the reports. In interviews with the prosecution, Mr. Pratt claimed that President Trump shared details about his phone calls with world leaders, and sensitive information like regarding the submarines, and he heavily criticized President Trump’s ethics.
A spokesperson for President Trump had not denied the content of the interviews, but told the paper the quotes “lack proper context.”
On Truth Social, President Trump denied he spoke of the things Mr. Pratt said he had.
“I never spoke to him about Submarines, but I did speak to him about creating jobs in Ohio and Pennsylvania, because that’s what I’m all about – JOBS, A GREAT ECONOMY, LOW TAXES, NO INFLATION, ENERGY DOMINANCE, STRONG BORDERS, NO ENDLESS WARS, LOW INTEREST RATES, and much more!” he said.
He said the NY Times did not request comment from him.
“Why would they, they just write anything they want. Whether it’s correct or not is of ZERO importance to them. ‘All the News That’s Unfit To Print.’ That’s why we call it the Fake News,” he wrote.
Documents Case
The historic case against President Trump is set to go to trial in May 2024, though his legal team is attempting to push the trial until after the presidential elections.
Last August, his Mar-a-Lago estate was raided by the FBI with a search warrant for classified documents that had been subpoenaed. In June, President Trump was indicted for allegedly mishandling classified documents. He has pleaded not guilty to 40 counts and maintains that he did nothing wrong, having declassified the documents, and had the right to have them under the Presidential Records Act.
Mr. Smith is also prosecuting a second case against President Trump, alleging that his actions to challenge the 2020 election results were taken with “dishonesty, fraud, and deceit”—as someone who knew he had lost.
Jan. 6 Case
That case goes to trial on March 4, 2024, in Washington, but on Truth Social President Trump announced he was seeking a change of venue.
“Washington(D.C.) has become a dirty, crime ridden death trap, that must be taken over and properly run by the Federal Government. It is, and will be, part of my Election Platform. We will clean it, renovate and rebuild it – and, most importantly, MAKE IT SAFE,” he wrote.
“Right now it is probably the most unsafe capital city anywhere in the World. With this in mind, there is NO WAY I can get a fair trial on a Biden, Election Interference Indictment, in D.C. Obviously, at the appropriate time, if this ridiculous case should be allowed to proceed forward, which is, according to legal scholars, very doubtful, I will be making a demand for a Venue Change!”
President Trump had previously requested Judge Tanya Chutkan step down from the case, arguing she was biased against him due to remarks she had made in sentencing other people charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach event. She declined to do so.
Later, she issued a gag order that would have prevented President Trump from speaking out against Mr. Smith regarding the case, but was unclear whether no such prohibition could have been in place for comments about Mr. Smith regarding the Mar-a-Lago case, like in the recent Truth Social post. The gag order was temporarily lifted by the judge, while President Trump’s legal team appeals the order.
From The Epoch Times
