Speaking on MSNBC, national security analyst Joe Cirincione said that recently reported behavior by former President Donald Trump would ordinarily result in a lengthy — and swiftly materializing — stint in prison. Specifically, recent reporting alleged that Trump blabbed about U.S. nuclear submarines with an Australian billionaire at Mar-a-Lago, which is the ex-president’s Florida resort.
“If I had done this, I’d be in jail right now,” Cirincione said. “The FBI would’ve been at my door. They would’ve led me away in handcuffs. And you wouldn’t be hearing from me for quite a long time.”
“The Navy cares about this, our military cares about this — that’s why they keep it secret,” he added. He also observed how available details pointing to Trump having just recklessly shared protected information originating with the U.S. government outlined what potentially was a considerably serious problem, considering the possibilities for the other troubling contexts in which Trump might have shared or helped with access to sensitive government information.
Trump was already criminally charged by Special Counsel Jack Smith at the federal Justice Department for having harbored government documents after leaving office, with a notable part of that case being Trump allegedly sharing sensitive military materials with private individuals during a gathering at a golf property of his in New Jersey as a book from former Trump White House staffer Mark Meadows was under development. Trump was also accused of involvement in an attempt at eliminating security footage that lined up with federal investigators’ interests specifically in this case, which the ex-president predictably denies.
“If I had done this, I’d be in jail right now” National Security analyst @Cirincione talks to @KatyTurNBC about the gravity of the revelations that Trump allegedly shared US nuclear submarine info with a foreign national at Mar-a-Lago pic.twitter.com/TAVIhfgtRU
— MSNBC Reports (@MSNBC_reports) October 6, 2023
