After leaving the White House, Trump allegedly discussed US nuclear subs with a foreigner.
According to sources familiar with the situation, months after leaving the White House, former President Donald Trump allegedly discussed potentially sensitive information about American nuclear submarines with a member of his Mar-a-Lago Club. This member, an Australian billionaire, allegedly then shared the information with dozens of people, including more than a dozen foreign officials, several of his own employees, and a few journalists.
The sources told ABC News that while they looked into Trump’s alleged stockpiling of secret materials at Mar-a-Lago, they informed special counsel Jack Smith’s team about the potential exposure. The information might provide more insight into how Trump has handled sensitive national security information.
The Mar-a-Lago member Anthony Pratt, who oversees one of the biggest packaging companies in the world and is domiciled in the United States and runs Pratt Industries, has been questioned by prosecutors and FBI investigators at least twice this year.
In those interviews, Pratt explained how he brought up the American submarine fleet, something the two had previously discussed, in an effort to strike up a dialogue with Trump during a visit at Mar-a-Lago in April 2021, the sources told ABC News.
According to Pratt’s account, as described by the sources, Pratt told Trump he thought Australia should begin purchasing its submarines from the United States, to which an enthused Trump — “leaning” towards Pratt as if to be discreet — then revealed two details about U.S. submarines: the purported exact number of nuclear warheads they allegedly carry on a regular basis, and precisely how close they allegedly can get to a Russian submarine without being detected.
According to the sources, Pratt alerted at least 45 people about Trump’s comments in emails and chats after their meeting, including six journalists, 11 members of his staff, 10 Australian officials, and three previous prime ministers of Australia.
Investigators requested Pratt not to repeat the figures that Trump allegedly gave him, implying that the information might be too sensitive to be shared further, according to ABC News, despite the fact that Pratt claimed he couldn’t determine whether what Trump stated about American submarines was true or simply bluster.
Although it’s unclear if the information was true, Smith’s staff looked into the incident.
Another witness, a former worker of Trump’s at Mar-a-Lago, reportedly told investigators that Pratt was heard conveying portions of what Trump had just said to someone else minutes after their meeting.
The sources claim that the former Mar-a-Lago employee also expressed to investigators that he was “bothered” and “shocked” to learn that the former president had given such ostensibly private material to a foreign national.
Pratt informed the detectives Sources claim that neither during their encounter in April 2021 nor any other time they came into contact at Mar-a-Lago did Trump present him any official documents.
In order to demonstrate to investigators how he was promoting Australia’s interests with the United States, Pratt reportedly emphasised to them that he had briefed others about his encounter with Trump. As reported in news stories at the time, some of the Australian officials he allegedly told were engaged in negotiations with the Biden administration at the time regarding a contract for Australia to buy several nuclear-powered attack submarines from the United States.
Australia agreed to buy at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines earlier this year, and the agreement was eventually sealed. However, President Joe Biden has stated that none of the submarines sold to Australia will be armed with nuclear weapons.
In his June indictment against Trump, which accused the former president of 40 counts of unauthorised retention of national defence information and obstruction-related offences, special counsel Smith left out any details concerning the supposed April 2021 conversation between Trump and Pratt.
When criticising the Biden administration last year for what he perceived as a feeble response to Russia’s conflict on Ukraine, Trump stated that if he were still in office, he would ensure that Russia recognised that the United States is “a greater nuclear power” with “the greatest submarines in the world.”
On the Fox Business network, Trump said that “nobody knows where they are,” despite the fact that they are the most potent machines ever created.
Pratt joined Mar-a-Lago shortly after Trump was elected president in 2017 and made a public commitment to spend an additional $2 billion in American manufacturing employment.
According to reports, Pratt told investigators that he visited Mar-a-Lago approximately ten times over the following few years, interacted with Trump several times, and once even had dinner with Trump and a senator from the United States at another Trump-owned property close by. Online records show that Pratt also paid a visit to the White House in 2018 during a meeting between Trump and the prime leader of Australia.
Speaking at the inauguration of a Pratt Industries facility in Wapakoneta, Ohio, in 2019, Trump referred to Pratt as a “friend” and thanked him for supporting the facility.
Trump declared, “We’re here to celebrate a terrific opening and a great gentleman. Anthony is arguably the most successful man in Australia and one of the most successful individuals in the world.
Standing next to Trump, Pratt continued, “If it weren’t for President Trump’s election, [which] has given us an incredible faith in investing in America, we would not have invested in this plant.”
However, in recent months, sources said Pratt informed investigators that he now backs the current U.S. administration and described himself as someone who “sides with the king.”