The reason a recording exists of Trump allegedly discussing classified documents with people without clearance is because a ghostwriter was working with Meadows on his memoir. That book, The Chief’s Chief, includes a prologue by the ghostwriter wherein he discusses following Meadows around while he worked with Trump. Veteran journalist Robert Mackey posted the excerpt on Twitter and pointed out:

Seems overlooked that Mark Meadows’s memoir undercuts Trump’s claim that he showed the book’s ghostwriter and publisher articles, not a war plan.

The excerpt Mackey posted, from the prologue of The Chief’s Chief, indicates that the papers were exactly what Trump is describing in the audio — a plan from General Mark Milley to attack Iran:

The president recalls a four-page report typed up by Mark Milley himself. It contained the general’s own plan to attack Iran, deploying massive numbers of troops, something he urged President Trump to do more than once during his presidency.

One of the top advisers on Donald Trump's 2024 campaign is among the individuals identified but not named by special counsel Jack Smith in his indictment against the former president for allegedly mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House and obstructing the government's efforts to retrieve them, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

Susie Wiles, one of Trump's most trusted advisers leading his second reelection effort, is the individual singled out in Smith's indictment as the "PAC Representative" who Trump is alleged to have shown a classified map to in August or September of 2021, sources said.

Trump, in the indictment, is alleged to have shown the classified map of an unidentified country to Wiles while discussing a military operation that Trump said "was not going well," while adding that he "should not be showing the map" to her and "not to get too close."

The alleged exchange between Trump and Wiles is the second of two instances detailed by prosecutors in the indictment showing how Trump allegedly disclosed classified information in private meetings after leaving the White House. The first was a July 2021 audio recording, obtained by ABC News earlier this week, in which Trump is heard showing people what he describes as a "secret" and "highly confidential" document relating to Iran.

ABC News has reported the meeting involved people who were helping Trump's former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, with his memoir, according to sources. Smith's team has spoken to the meeting's attendees, which included the writers helping Meadows with his book and at least two aides to Trump, according to sources.





It does not appear, based on the indictment, that Trump was charged specifically for his retention of either the Iran document or the classified map shown to the person identified as Wiles. Rather, the two instances speak to what Smith's prosecutors see as Trump's state of mind in how he handled and sometimes shared classified materials in his possession after leaving the White House, sources said, as well as his alleged efforts to subvert the government’s efforts to get the documents back.

A top Trump campaign adviser — who apparently was shown classified documents by the former president — has a top post at a lobbying firm serving Chinese entities that potentially pose a national security threat and help Beijing commit human rights abuses.

Susie Wiles works on Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign and is co-chair of Mercury Public Affairs, which has taken millions of dollars in recent years from Chinese companies such as Yealink, Hikvision and Alibaba.

Wiles, a veteran of several GOP campaigns including Ron DeSantis’ 2018 run for Florida governor, has also been identified as one of several people to whom the 45th president allegedly revealed sensitive material, ABC News reported late Wednesday.

According to a 37-count indictment brought earlier this month by Special Counsel Jack Smith, a “PAC representative” — reportedly Wiles — visited the 77-year-old ex-president at his Bedminster, NJ, golf club in August or September 2021 and was improperly shown a classified map of a foreign nation.

Trump told the person “he should not be showing the map” and “to not get too close,” prosecutors say.

If confirmed, the episode is further complicated by both Wiles’ high standing in the Trump campaign and her firm’s lobbying for potential hostile entities — though a search of the Justice Department’s registry of foreign agents indicated Wiles had not worked directly for those clients.

“Susie could put Trump away for years in just one minute of testimony to Jack Smith,” a rival GOP operative told The Post. “She’s got Trump by the balls, which means she can name her price for her loyalty and Trump can’t say no.”