In a recent interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, former president Donald Trump said that his reluctance to hand over boxes of classified documents was due to his “busy schedule” and the need to remove personal items such as golf shirts and shoes.
The interview marked Trump’s first appearance since being indicted on 37 charges related to his handling of sensitive files after leaving the White House. Prosecutors have focused on his attempts to impede federal investigators trying to recover the classified material. Baier questioned why Trump did not return the boxes even after receiving a government subpoena.
Trump, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, responded by suggesting that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) would only retrieve the documents by pleading for their return.
“The only way NARA could ever get this stuff back would be [to say]: ‘Please, please please, could we have it back?’” Trump said.
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“And they asked for it, they did ask for it,” Baier noted. “And then they went to DOJ to subpoena you. Why not just hand them over then?”
He acknowledged that NARA did make a request and eventually sought a subpoena from the Department of Justice. Baier pressed further, asking why Trump didn’t simply hand over the documents at that point.
“Because I had boxes,” Trump said. “I want to go through the boxes and get all my personal things out. I don’t want to hand that over to NARA yet. And I was very busy as you’ve sort of seen.”
He went on to address allegations in the indictment that he instructed an aide to relocate the boxes after instructing his lawyers to claim full compliance. “Before sending the boxes over, I needed to ensure that I had retrieved all my personal items,” he asserted.
“These boxes were interspersed with all sorts of things,” the former president said. “Golf shirts, clothing, pants, shoes.”
“Iran war plans?” Baier asked.
“Not that I know of,” Trump replied.
When Baier inquired whether Trump still retained any sensitive files, the former president vehemently denied it and expressed concern about the possibility of authorities tampering with the items they seized. “No, I don’t have anything,” he declared before suggesting that the FBI might have planted evidence.
“What I’m concerned about, they took everything. I don’t know what they took. They could be stuffing it,” Trump said.
Watch the clip below:
Baier: Why not just hand them over? Trump: Because I had boxes, I want to go through the boxes and get all my personal things pic.twitter.com/PwW85wlTzH
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 19, 2023
