The former US President Donald Donald Trump would have discussed potentially sensitive information about US nuclear submarines with an Australian billionaire, Anthony Pratt, three months after he ended his term in the White House, The Guardian reports.
Donald TrumpPhoto: Alex Brandon / AP / Profimedia
Citing a source familiar with the Australian’s account to special prosecutor Jack Smith’s investigators, US news channel ABC News reported that Trump had discussed “the supposed exact number of nuclear warheads that (US submarines) routinely carry and exactly how many.” close. it is assumed that they can reach a Russian submarine without being detected”.
Smith filed 40 criminal charges against Trump related to the retention of classified information after his term ended. The former president also faces 17 felony election-related charges (four federal, filed by Smith and 13 in Georgia) and 34 for hush-hush payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniel
Despite such an extreme situation — including civil suits for fraud and defamation — he leads the Republican presidential poll by a wide margin and is the clear favorite to face Joe Biden in the 2024 race for the White House.
Smith reportedly did not include any information about Trump’s alleged April 2021 conversation with Pratt in his June indictment against Trump.
ABC said Trump spoke with Pratt at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida in April 2021.
Pratt then allegedly shared the information about the submarines “within minutes” of learning about them, shocking a Trump staffer who overheard him.
Pratt, according to the ABC, went on to share the information with at least 45 people, including his own employees, journalists, foreign and Australian officials “and three former Australian prime ministers”.
It’s unclear whether what Trump told Pratt was accurate, ABC said. However, the investigators asked him not to repeat what he heard.
Pratt, whose cardboard packaging firm Pratt Industries is based in the US, told investigators he repeated what Trump told him because he wanted to show he was advocating for Australia in the US.
At the time, Australia was negotiating the purchase of nuclear submarines from the US. The deal was completed this year.
Trump has not yet commented on this information.
Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told The Guardian that Pratt had not spoken to him.
“Trump asked me in early 2017 why we are buying French submarines and not American ones,” Turnbull said.
The Australian government has not had a response following the release of this information. The offices of the prime minister and the foreign minister have been contacted for comment.
Pratt was asked to comment through his company, Visy Industries, The Guardian reports.
