Special counsel Jack Smith is investigating whether former President Donald Trump shared sensitive information about the US nuclear submarine program with an Australian billionaire – who then repeated the information to dozens of others.
The alleged conversation between Trump, 77, and Anthony Pratt took place at Mar-a-Lago in April 2021 — months after the former president left office, according to ABC News.
Pratt, the head of packaging company Pratt Industries, reportedly told federal prosecutors that Trump secretly revealed to him the exact number of nuclear warheads that US submarines carry and how close they can get to Russian submarines without being detected.
A November 2013 Congressional Budget Office report stated that the US Ohio-class nuclear submarine fleet could carry a maximum of 20 missiles and up to eight nuclear warheads per missile. It was unclear whether Trump was referring to those submarines or other types in the Navy’s fleet.
The incident was reportedly investigated by special counsel Jack Smith.AP
Trump allegedly disclosed the information to Pratt after the packaging magnate told the former president that he believed Australia should buy its submarines from the US.
Within minutes of their conversation, the Australian billionaire informed other Mar-a-Lago guests of what Trump had just told him, a former employee at the Palm Beach, Fla., club told federal investigators, according to the outlet.
Pratt would go on to share the information with at least 45 other people, according to the report, including journalists, some of his employees, and Australian officials, including three former Australian prime ministers.
Trump reportedly revealed the exact number of nuclear warheads US submarines carry and how far they can reach Russian submarines undetected.VIA BLOOMBERG NEWS
Federal investigators reportedly told Pratt not to repeat the figures the former president allegedly disclosed, citing security concerns raised by the revelations.
Pratt told investigators Trump did not share any government documents with him during their April 2021 discussion and has not done so since.
Trump faces 40 criminal charges related to allegations that he kept sensitive White House documents at Mar-a-Lago after becoming president.
Pratt reportedly told at least 45 people about the information he heard from Trump.Getty Images for The New York Times
One of the charges accuses Trump of possessing a classified document outlining a potential attack plan against Iran, which he showed in the summer of 2021 to a writer and editor working on a biography of former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Earlier this year, President Biden announced that the US would sell at least three nuclear-powered attack submarines to Australia.
Several Australian officials involved in discussions with the Biden administration over the submarine sale were reportedly among the individuals Pratt spoke with about his alleged conversations with Trump.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
