(PatriotWise.com) – Michael Schmidt, New York Times journalist and author of “Donald Trump v. The United States,” alleged that former President Donald Trump had to be repeatedly told not to share classified information with his personal contacts.
During a recent interview with MSNBC, Schmidt said retired four-star Marine and former Trump chief of staff Gen. John Kelly was doubtful that Trump would be able to properly handle classified information.
“Kelly would try to stop Trump from doing things that could damage national security,” Schmidt said.
Now, Trump’s handling of classified documents is under investigation by the Department of Justice. The investigation comes on the heels of an August 2022 FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida home. A warrant was granted after the National Archives’ requests for the documents weren’t answered.
Further, Kelly accused Trump of believing he knew more than the generals advising him, complaining that the former president was unable–or unwilling–to ask for advice from individuals who had more experience in the national security arena.
The book alleges that Kelly believed Trump had no grasp on how to deal with issues that could put the nation’s security at risk. Kelly also reportedly claimed that he had to spend time dealing with lesser issues, such as an alleged rivalry between First Lady Melania Trump and Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka.
During interviews for the book, Kelly also told Schmidt that, in 2017, Trump had floated the idea of dropping a nuclear bomb on North Korea, then placing the blame on another country. Kelly alleged that Trump expressed frustration over the fact that he couldn’t strike preemptively without approval from Congress.
Schmidt’s book compiles numerous stories from Kelly and others close to Trump during his presidency. Alongside President Joe Biden’s current controversy surrounding his alleged mishandling of classified documents, plus the current Department of Justice investigation into Trump’s document handling, the timing of Schmidt’s book release is interesting.
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