Former President Donald Trump said in a new interview he was reluctant to hand over boxes of classified documents because he was “busy” and needed to sort through them to remove personal items, including golf shirts and shoes.
Trump spoke to Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview that aired Sunday, his first since he was indicted on 37 charges linked to his handling of the sensitive files after he left the White House. Prosecutors have homed in on his alleged efforts to obstruct federal investigators attempting to recover the classified material, and Baier asked the former president why he didn’t return the boxes even after he received a government subpoena.
“The only way NARA could ever get this stuff back would be [to say]: ‘Please, please please, could we have it back?’” Trump, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, replied.
“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?”
“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 claims in the indictment that he told an aide to move the boxes to other locations after telling lawyers to say he had fully complied: “Before I send the boxes over, I have to take all of my things out.”
“These boxes were interspersed with all sorts of things,” Trump said. “Golf shirts, clothing, pants, shoes.”
“Iran war plans?” Baier asked.
“Not that I know of,” the former president said.
Trump has repeatedly defended his actions after he left the Oval Office, saying he had a standing order to declassify documents while in the White House and that he had an “absolute” right to take anything he wanted under the Presidential Records Act. The law makes it clear that all materials created or received by the president or his staff while carrying out official duties belong to the government.
Baier then asked Trump if he still had any sensitive files in his possession, prompting a fiery retort from him.
“No, I don’t have anything, no,” he said. “What I’m concerned about, they took everything. I don’t know what they took. They could be stuffing it.”