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Defenders of former President Donald Trump have responded to news of his indictment by the US Department of Justice with deflection: Why is Trump being charged but not President Joe Biden's son Hunter?

Former president Donald Trump has repeatedly asserted a legally dubious claim that he declassified sensitive documents at his Mar-a-Lago property before he left the White House after losing the 2020 presidential election. But he admitted, on a tape, six months after leaving office, that a document in his possession was “classified”, “highly confidential” and “secret information”. He admitted, on tape, that he could declassify such documents as president, but now that he is out of office, “I can’t.” The recording from July 2021 was in possession of federal prosecutors investigating the former president’s alleged mishandling of hundreds of documents bearing classification markings found in boxes at his Florida home, and whether he lied to authorities and his attorneys about the records he was keeping. A transcript of the recording published by CNN is expected to be a central piece of evidence in a federal case against the former president, who faces 37 counts in a federal indictment unsealed on 9 June. The recording also appears to contradict his ongoing, bogus claims about documents in his possession, as he rails against the federal “witch hunt” against him, among a long list of criminal charges, lawsuits and other legal actions he faces in courtrooms across the country. Last year, he told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he could declassify sensitive material by thinking about it. “If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying it’s declassified – even by thinking about it,” he said. “Because you’re sending it to Mar-a-Lago or wherever you’re sending it. There doesn’t have to be a process. There can be a process, but there doesn’t have to be.” In an appearance on Fox News with Hannity last week, the former president dismissed reports of the tape. “All I know is this: everything I did was right,” he said. By July 2021, officials at the National Archives and Records Administration had already spent several weeks urging Mr Trump to return documents they believed he had in his possession, culminating in a federal law enforcement search of Mar-a-Lago in August 2022. The recording appears to have taken place at Mr Trump’s resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, alongside two people working with his former chief of staff Mark Meadows on his memoir from his time in the administration. Aides for Mr Trump, including communications specialist Margo Martin, also were reportedly present. Ms Martin was reportedly asked about the recording during a grand jury appearance in the case. A transcript of the recording suggests that the former president was showing the document to people in the room. The file allegedly involves a US Department of Defense report involving an attack on Iran. “Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this,” he said at one point, according to the transcript. “This was done by the military and given to me.” The meeting followed The New Yorker’s publication of a story from Susan Glasser detailing how, in the final days of Mr Trump’s presidency, his chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley had instructed his team to prevent Mr Trump from launching a strike that could trigger a war. Mr Trump reportedly sought to use the document to discredit Mr Milley’s warnings and undermine reports that Mr Milley pushed back against an increasingly erratic president in the finals days of the administration, but the document reportedly was drafted much earlier in Mr Trump’s administration under then-Joint Chiefs chairman Joseph Dunford. “Well, with Milley – uh, let me see that, I’ll show you an example. He said that I wanted to attack Iran. Isn’t that amazing? I have a big pile of papers, this thing just came up. Look. This was him,” Mr Trump said, according to the transcript. “They presented me this – this is off the record, but – they presented me this,” he added. “This was him. This was the Defense Department and him. We looked at some. This was him. This wasn’t done by me, this was him.” Later, he said there was “all sorts of stuff – pages long.” “Wait a minute, let’s see here,” he continued. “I just found, isn’t that amazing? This totally wins my case, you know. Except it is like, highly confidential. Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this.” “Secret” and “confidential” are among classification markings for sensitive government documents. Mr Trump is charged with 31 of 37 counts under a section of the Espionage Act that prohibits “gathering, transmitting or losing” any “information respecting the national defence”. The use of Section 793, which does not make reference to classified information, is likely intended to undercut Mr Trump’s attempts to claim that he declassified such documents before moving them to his Florida home. That statute is written in a way that could encompass Mr Trump’s conduct even if he was authorised to possess the information as president. It states that anyone who “lawfully having possession of, access to, control over, or being entrusted with any document … relating to the national defence” and “willfully” transmits such information in any way can face a prison sentence of up to 10 years. For an additional conviction on a charge of obstruction, prosecutors must prove whether he knowingly kept documents from authorities and willfully defied the Justice Department’s subpoena for documents in his possession. A conviction includes a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. The investigation is one of two helmed by special counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by US Attorney General Merrick Garland to lead a probe into the documents and Mr Trump’s role in the January 6 attempt to subvert the 2020 presidential election. Read More Trump indictment - live: Trump says he’s ‘an innocent man’ as he faces seven charges in documents case Obstruction, witness tampering, conspiracy: The federal charges against Donald Trump How Trump’s second indictment unfolded: A timeline of the investigation into Mar-a-Lago documents

Donald Trump praised an attorney who deleted 30,000 Hillary Clinton emails, according to a newly unsealed indictment from special counsel Jack Smith. As a candidate and president, Mr Trump repeatedly called for his 2016 opponent to be locked up after she was found to have used a private server to for official communications as secretary of state. But privately, he joked about how her lawyers had “done a great job” deleting the emails. The unsealed indictment details a conversation Mr Trump held with two lawyers, listed as Trump Attorney 1 and Trump Attorney 2 on 23 May 2022. The lawyers informed Mr Trump he would have to comply with a Department of Justice subpoena to turn over any classified materials to the National Archive. According to the indictment, Mr Trump asked them: “Well what happens if we just don’t respond at all or don’t play ball with them?” In a subsequent conversation, “memorialised” by Attorney 1, Mr Trump allegedly said: “(Attorney), he was great, he did a great job. You know what? He said, he said that it... was him. That he was the one who deleted all of her emails, the 30,000 emails, because they basically dealt with her scheduling and her going to the gym and her having beauty appointments. “And he was great. And he, so she didn’t get in any trouble because he said that he was the one who deleted him.” The identity of the attorney who supposedly deleted Ms Clinton’s emails was redacted. Trump Attorney 1, who was apparently recording the conversation, was said to be Evan Corcoran, according to CNN. The indictment, released a day after Mr Trump was indicted, revealed that he has been charged with 37 counts including conspiracy to obstruct justice and scheme to conceal that laid bare for the first time the vast scope of the classified document investigation. According to the indictment, FBI agents collected a total of 102 classified documents during a search of Mar-a-Lago last August. Read More Trump indictment — live: Justice Department unseals classified papers indictment as aide also faces charges Trump described Pentagon ‘plan of attack’ and shared classified military map with PAC member, indictment shows Conspiracy, false statements and retaining national defense documents: The federal charges against Donald Trump Trump indictment unsealed: Ex-president showed classified documents to unauthorised persons Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

The files found at Mr Trump's estate allegedly included information on US and its allies' weapons capabilities.

By Dietrich Knauth NEW YORK A U.S. judge on Friday dismissed the bankruptcy of 3M subsidiary Aearo Technologies,

A potential Mets trade involving Reds closer Alexis Diaz has gained more traction recently. There's a real possibility New York could reunite the Diaz brothers at the trade deadline.If the Mets manage to bring over closer Alexis Diaz at the trade deadline, New York will get the "Big Ap...

Citigroup Inc. is planning to cut 30 investment banking jobs and 20 more in its corporate banking unit

Republic of Ireland boss Vera Pauw has named a 31-player pre-World Cup training camp squad again to be captained by Arsenal’s Katie McCabe. The Republic will face co-hosts Australia in their World Cup opener on July 20, a contest which proved so popular that in January it was relocated to the tournament’s largest venue, Sydney’s 83,500-capacity Stadium Australia. Pauw’s World Cup debutants have three scheduled warm-up games before that fixture, beginning with a sold-out June 22 encounter against Zambia at Dublin’s Tallaght Stadium. McCabe along with three US-based players – Denise O’Sullivan, Sinead Farrelly and Marissa Sheva – will link up with the squad after the Zambia game. Manchester United defender Aoife Mannion is a notable absence after tweaking her knee in training for her club last month, but the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) on Friday confirmed she will continue to be monitored ahead of the final squad selection of 23 players, to be whittled down by June 29. The training camp schedule will factor in when players finished their respective club seasons to determine workload and recovery time and ensure they will be in line with each other for the final stage of tournament preparation. Other Women’s Super League players to make the training squad include Everton goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan, Brighton shot-stopper Megan Walsh, and Liverpool defensive duo Niamh Fahey and Megan Campbell, with their Reds team-mate Leanne Kiernan among the forwards. Brighton’s Megan Connolly and Aston Villa’s Ruesha Littlejohn join McCabe in the pack of midfielders hoping to make Pauw’s final 23-player squad to travel to Australia, where they will also meet Canada and Nigeria in Group B. Grace Moloney and Diane Caldwell represent recently relegated Reading, while Chloe Mustaki plays for newly promoted Bristol City. Full Republic of Ireland pre-World Cup squad: Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Grace Moloney (Reading), Megan Walsh (Brighton), Sophie Whitehouse (Lewes) Defenders: Harriet Scott (Birmingham), Aine O’Gorman (Shamrock Rovers), Louise Quinn (Birmingham), Niamh Fahey (Liverpool), Diane Caldwell (Reading), Hayley Nolan (London City Lionesses), Claire O’Riordan (Celtic), Megan Campbell (Liverpool), Chloe Mustaki (Bristol City), Tara O’Hanlon (Peamount United) Midfielders: Katie McCabe (Arsenal), Denise O’Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Megan Connolly (Brighton), Ruesha Littlejohn (Aston Villa), Jamie Finn (Birmingham), Ciara Grant (Hearts), Lily Agg (London City Lionesses), Sinead Farrelly (NY/NJ Gotham), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City), Erin McLaughlin (Peamount United) Forwards: Heather Payne (Florida State University), Leanne Kiernan (Liverpool), Abbie Larkin (Shamrock Rovers), Kyra Carusa (London City Lionesses), Amber Barrett (Potsdam Turbine), Marissa Sheva (Washington Spirit), Saoirse Noonan (Durham WFC). Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live West Ham charged by UEFA over fan behaviour at Europa Conference League final Australia on course for world title despite fielding woes against India Andy Murray fights back from set down to reach Surbiton semi-finals

Donald Trump has been indicted over his refusal to return classified documents found at his Florida home, the

'I'm single! I’m just a little high maintenance, but I’ll love you so much,' said Selena Gomez

The Phoenix Suns have a new owner and a new head coach. But NBA rumors say that won't enough to smooth things over with Deandre Ayton.After a clear rift emerged between head coach Monty Williams and star center Deandre Ayton during the 2022 playoffs, it seemed obvious that Ayton was on his ...

Two SEC foes meet in the Super Regionals of the 2023 college baseball tournament with a spot in Omaha, Nebraska on the line.LSU took two of three from Kentucky at home during the regular season, and will look to do similar over the weekend in Baton Rouge against a Wildcats team that snuck into t...