Mar-a-Lago member Anthony Pratt was informed by then-President Donald Trump about his confidential conversations with the leaders of Ukraine and Iraq, as revealed in reports published on Sunday. These reports demonstrate Trump's tendency to divulge government information to individuals such as Pratt, who is a crucial witness in the case involving Trump's classified documents. The New York Times and "60 Minutes Australia" unveiled previously undisclosed recordings of Pratt, an Australian billionaire, where he openly discusses his interactions with Trump. In these recordings, Pratt discloses that Trump shared privileged insights about his telephone conversations with world leaders throughout his presidency. Moreover, Pratt offers scathing criticisms of Trump's personal morality.
Pratt, who is on special counsel Jack Smith's witness list for the trial scheduled in May, recently gave an interview regarding Trump's mishandling of national security materials. CNN previously reported that Smith accused Trump of hoarding classified documents at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, to which Trump pleaded not guilty. This case revolves around concerns about Trump's careless approach to state secrets. Prior reports from ABC News disclosed that Trump had discussed sensitive information about US nuclear submarines with Pratt. The latest reports on Sunday provide further details about Pratt's recollection of their conversations, including discussions on foreign policy matters.
Pratt recounted a conversation with Trump that took place before the news broke, where Trump claimed, "I just bombed Iraq today." The recording, made public on Sunday, also revealed Trump's account of his call with Iraqi President Barham Salih in December 2019. According to Pratt, Trump stated, "The president of Iraq called me up and accused me of decimating his city... I responded by asking, 'What do you plan to do about it?'"
According to the recordings, Trump discussed his well-known phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in September 2019 with Pratt. During the call, Trump urged Zelensky to publicly initiate unfounded corruption investigations into Joe Biden in order to gain an advantage in the 2020 election. This particular phone conversation became the foundation of Trump's initial impeachment. Trump mentioned to Pratt that the Zelensky call was insignificant compared to his usual discussions, stating, "That was nothing compared to what I usually do. That's nothing compared to what we usually talk about."
Trump acknowledged in his remarks to The New York Times that Pratt hails from Australia, a friendly nation and one of our esteemed allies. However, he did not explicitly refute the conversations depicted in the recorded tapes. A representative for Trump mentioned that the tapes are void of appropriate context. CNN has contacted both the Trump campaign and Visy, Pratt's company, for their input.
The recent revelations could serve as evidence for Smith's prosecutors, suggesting that Trump consistently shared sensitive government information with individuals who were not authorized to receive it. These individuals include political donors and influential businessmen in his circle. It is currently unknown whether prosecutors were already aware of the tapes released to the public on Sunday.
Furthermore, the newly released recordings provide insight into Pratt's frank and private opinions about Trump's conduct. It remains unclear who Pratt was addressing, but he remarked in one tape that Trump frequently makes outrageous statements and likened his business practices to those of the mafia.
"He knows exactly what to sayand what not to sayso that he avoids jail. But gets so close to it that it looks to everyone like hes breaking the law," Pratt said in one tape.