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cnn obtaining the audio recording of donald trump discussing highly class if ied documents at his golf club. you're about to hear trump, in his own words, saying he no longer had the power to classify the documents. this is a critical piece of evidence in jack smith's indictment of donald trump over his mishandling classified information. we have cnn's top legal, political analysts here tonight. let's start with paula reed and laura coates. paula, i begin with you. let's get to the audio tape. what do we hear donald trump saying? >> this was back in the summer of 2021, at his new jersey grshg. in the room, is two of his aides, who are recording anything he said. he had his staff record him.

the other people in the room, are two people working on an auto biography of former chief of staff mark meadows. the former president was agitated about comments by mark milley. i'll let him take it from here. you can hear what he had to say about that. >> hthese are bad, sick people. >> that was your coupe against you. >> it started -- >> when millie is talk about -- they were trying to do that before you were sworn in. >> well, with milley, he said, i wanted to attack. in a big pile of papers, this just came up. look. this was him.

they presented me this. this is off the record. they presented me this. this was him. this was the defense department and him. this wasn't done by me. all sorts of stuff. pages long. >> isn't that amazing? this wins my case, you know? that's highly confidential, secret. this is secret. you attack and -- >> hillary would print that out all the time. >> or send it to anthony weiner. isn't that incredible? i was thinking. we were talking about it. he wanted to attack iran. this is done by the military and given to me. i think we can probably --

right? we'll have to declassified it. if i'm president, i could declassify it. i can't. isn't that interesting? it's so cool. you probably almost didn't believe me. >> i believed you. >> incredible, right? >> remarkable there, the casual nature of that conversation, where he's clearly claiming to be discussing some of the nation's most sensitive secrets. in a statement, the former president's spokesman says this clarifies that the former president did nothing wrong. >> you hear the president said, these are the papers. highly confidential, secret information. does special counsel jack smith

need to prove they were what trump was claiming they were? >> well, special counsel and the team is probably looking at this. the audio tape is full and maybe the motivation in part. wanting to show off and the statements. now, i bet you do. it's greater than a contextual discussion, why the reasons he wanted to retain and reveal certain documents. it undermines the claims he made in the past. these were newspapers or magazine clippings. that negates that wholeheartedly. if you're special counsel, you're well aware of this audio. you know every person, the voices you heard, the people who actually had the tapes, they are now all witnesses to this.

they can be called in front of a grand jury if they haven't already been. or they can testify about what he was holding. it gives greater color to the overarching claims. the bulk of the claims relate to conspiracy and obstruction, as well. this paints a clearer picture. but the conduct that was indicted, is according to the document in south florida. >> who are the other voices? >> liz harrington, one of his sp spokespeople. and margot martin. she's a long-time aide. they played this recording for her. and that was actually how trump's lawyers back in this year, found out this recording existed at all. prior to that, they were unaware of this key piece of evidence. there were multiple versions of this recording.

the staffers were rolling and the auto biographers had these notes. march is when trump's lawyers learned about this incriminating piece of evidence. >> donald trump is declaring he can declassify whatever he wanted. but on this tape, he admitted he did not declass if i those and cannot declassify because he's out of office. >> this notion that he was able to declassify with the waving of the wand was legally ridiculous. this complaint, deals with the willful retention of documents that should have been returned, as well. the presidential records act does not play a role in these conversations. but classified material, as

defined in the uespionage act i center stage here. that he cannot declassify what's in front of him. and the documents and the substance give credence to the claims these were documents that falls under the category of defense related information. things that would be close to the vest of the united states. something our alllies would not have have out. think about that context of the material. we're not creating new defense plans and war plans every day. they're things that have been decided and will be renewed. these are sensitive materials. it's interesting to see what his lawyers articulate in the court of law. we're looking for pretrial

motions, what comes in, what is excluded and why. >> thank you very much for explaining all of that to us. let's bring in harry litman and john miller our senior law enforcement analyst. your thoughts as you hear donald trump and his own words there. >> that's a damaging, devastating tape. it allows the prosecutors to put the jury in the room. hear what donald trump says. to hear him pages through. and his aide at one point, let's just say, says this is a problem. she is chuckling. this aide has to acknowledge, this is a bit of a problem. and as laura just said, it undermines the core component of his defense. saying, i declassified. i would have but i didn't and i

can't now. maybe this is a smart stable. how do you defend this? two significant aspects. he's had 12 different versions. we've known all along, or have known for a couple months, this tape was pivotal in the united states' decision to seek a search warrant. people were a little on the fence. this was the thing that persuaded them. if you listen to it, you know why. he is asserting, true or not, a confers from the chair of the point chiefs of staff, about how we're going to attack iran. that's radio active. you can't imagine a higher level. at that point, they have to go in. it seems like he's flirting with dissemination. dissemination is another crime,

another level. >> does that mean he has to hand it over to somebody? >> the short hans is no. but they have to know what it is. i suspect they haven't charged it. it's for atmosphere. this is what he would do. this is the highest national interest. paragraph six is in there. we'll see if they have the goods to charge that down the line. >> let's talk about the national security implications. how dangerous is this? >> it's extraordinarily dangerous and crosses over into the legal end also. it is pure to the charge. invest information. doesn't matter if it's classified.

it's defense information that could be injurious to the security of the united states. when you have a hostile foreign power. let's take iran. that's the subject of this document. if we had to attack iran. if a situation came up, disseminating that information, not protecting that information, could undermine the attack plan. i think it's a stunning example, based on the charge they chose. >> there's a moment, where one of the people reacts to what they're saying. they say wow. is that a big deal? >> wow.

in an odd way, it doesn't matter. this indictment we have before us now, charges 31 specific documents. this document is not one of them. you don't necessarily need to prove there was a document there to carry charges. it's atmospheric but important. this is one of the two times that donald trump is doing something. he's clearly showing them something. >> you know. you prosecuted these cases. when they get into court, they're going to play the tape and they will play it again. they'll say, what happened in the room? he held up a piece of paper. what did you see? i saw a red cover and the word secret on it. did he peel back that first page? they will unfurl layer by layer,

what they saw and what they were exposed to. did they discuss giving it, too? yes, they did. transcript was damning. witnesses bring it home. the main person that could rebut it, donald trump, won't testify. >> stand by. we have many more questions for you. much or of cnn's exclusive audio tape. from the ground in moscow. i'll speak to a top ambassador about whether putin can hold on to power.

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you probably almost didn't believe me. >> i believed you. incredible, right? >> cnn has exclusively obtained the audio recording of the 2021 meeting at donald trump's golf club in bedminster, new jersey. this is pan important piece of evidence in the indictment of donald trump over the mishandling classified information. let's get to miami where walt nauta is expected to appear in court tomorrow. how will jack smith's team use this audio tape? >> we know it is something he wants to use. it's something he described in the indictment. he quoted it in indictment document. that's xapted to come to life when we have a trial.

when they bring it to life, there will be questions around how that -- how it becomes part of the story that prosecutors tell in the courtroom to the jury. is one of these documents that trump is speaking about, on the tape, about iran, pa teotential attack iran. is that 1 of 31 documents? we don't know. it's not clear if that is explained at trial. it could be. we know from the indictment alone, this is the document that they can explain the intent of donald trump wanting to keep these things. and the attitude he had. >> that document, whatever it was he was showing there, do we know the status of that now? was it returned to the national

archives? >> that's a huge question. it will be a question we're watching a lot for. as we move towards this case before trial. after the justice department got ahold of the audio, and made it known they have the recording in this case, in the final months before they brought the indictment against him, they had subpoenaed these documents. either this document in particular, or copies that remain. and his lawyers were unable to find the exact document it was responsive. it's plausible that it was found in the search of mar-a-lago in august and we don't know the story yet.

maybe it was a copy or something or a document that's lost. that's a big question to watch for. >> we're going to talk more about that. what about that? what if they don't have that document? >> as a prosecutor, you want the document. even if they don't have it, this recording is admissible and important. it shows exactly what donald trump's intent was. it showed why he kept the documents and what he did with them. you want the document but if you don't have it as a prosecutor, it's valuable. >> there's a couple of uses in addition. you can go for a home run. at a minimum, here's what you do. it puts the lie to his various defenses about how he dec

declassifies everything. it's one of a dozen of shifting explanations of trump. two days ago, he says the opposite. there wasn't any document there. you play those and you have a lawyer on your hands and the jury knows it. every statement of trump will be admissible. he won't be rebutting them. those two things at a minimum. that's a lot already. >> let's play that brett bear moment. that's how he tried to explain -- what that mdocument was he but showing off. >> there was no document. there was a massive amount of papers and other things talking about iran and other things. it may have been held up or may not. there was nothing to declassify.

these were newspaper stories, magazine stories and articles. >> he claims he wasn't holding um a document. >> that's where the transport doesn't help us. the tape is suggestive. that's where the witness gets to be the star on the witness stand. i suspect if they put it in the case that way, they will do that. they will put on an expert witness, from the office of director of national intelligence. can the president classify or declassify. former can, can you? no, you can't. is he here that he understands the rules? >> yes, he does. he says in the tape, it says secret. unless he's fabricating this -- it appears and you argue to the jury, the reasonable inference

is he is reading that off of the documents you can hear him shuffling about. >> whoever was in that room, these were his long-time staffers. you put them on the witness stand, isn't it possible they say, they back up his story? >> yeah. and by the way, i think maybe the most repulsive moment is when they're ga uffawing with h. if short answer is, yes. if you're a prosecutor, you use it con servetive. you can go for the home run but it doesn't matter. all his defenses, whatever they say. i agree. i wouldn't put them in thinking they're going to make the case against their old boss. >> donald trump was indicted in florida because of the boxing we see at mar-a-lago. this happened at dbedminster, i

new jersey. is that a different case? part of the same case? >> i think it stays part of the same case. the prosecutor here, jack smith, has gone to great lengths. to not argue about the judge, who was controversial. not argue about presenting it in palm beach. he's going with the cards he dealt. i doubt they would go to the bedminster. >> there was a theory that maybe d.o.j. has a second set to drop in new jersey. they are playing it straight. >> thank you. with two documents, donald trump's future depends on winning the upcoming presidential election. we'll talk about what that means for the campaign. nu

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the audio recording of former president trump at his golf club in new jersey, talking freely about what he calls highly classified secret documents about a possible attack on iran. >> these are bad, sick people. >> that was the coup, you know, against you. when milley was talking about -- they were trying to do that before you were sworn in. >> that's right. >> well, with milley, i'll show you an example. he said i wanted to attack iran. >> let's talk about what this means for the 2024 race, the president run. great to have all of you here. >> when i heard the tape. it's not as much of what he said as what people will hear.

i'm not sure it will move the republican voters. the independents and democrats will be outraged. i think republicans have an opposite reaction. 18% were more likely to consider donald trump postindictment. when you look at polling of hunter biden to donald trump, it's all politically motivated. they don't think what he did was dangerous. >> i understand what he's saying, it's a witchhunt. is that different? >> i think everybody knows he had classified documents. i don't think many voters didn't think the documents weren't there. the question is, are they

secrets that can be damages. that's what a lot of republicans were saying. >> but the people around him didn't, who didn't have classification. john, your consternation? >> i'm not buying that for several reasons. cit his support had softened. a quarter of republicans say he should drop out of the race. he's leading the pack by a lot. you saw momentum by other candidates. the deal is with national security. it can get people killed if it's in the wrong hands. if you line that up that he has told about this, including to

the earlier clip. you can slice those together and say he's lying. the hard-core support ers, may not affect them. >> this is interesting. as a defense attorney, you would lean into what lee is saying. appealing for people who have a shred of doubt. >> trials are like a campaign. and you need trust. a lot of that is predicated on, can you trust the government? the information they are providing to you. what the molt motivations were. this is in his words. there's an indication that it's secret. he said, i could have declassified it as president. he is owning the issue of

knowledge. he is sharing it with people across the table. when you're arguing, don't trust the government, now, we have your own voice, sir. that cuts against the notion, of don't trust the government, i'm innocent. donald trump lost to joe biden by more than 7 million votes. does all of this, the audio tape, all of the indictments, does that help him pick up the 7 million? how is he going to get more votes? >> you look at the impact on polls, it has a huge impact on independent and democratic voters. more energized and more likely to vote against donald trump than before. in many ways, there's an

opposite day thing that applies to donald trump. that gives trump energy. the two tiers of justice. and the witch hunt, things seem so unfair. you'll hear a lot of contrast about hunter biden's text messages. >> you hear that on other networks, for sure. will his opponents seize on this. >> they should. this candidate is under indictment. he is a general election loser. they have to stand up and speak out. >> thank you very much. next, we're in moscow where

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vladimir putin finally broke his silence tonight at 10:00 p.m. moscow time, about the armed rebellion led by his former ally, yevgeny prigozhin. we don't know where prigozhin is tonight. joining me now is matthew chance in moscow. we finally heard from vladimir putin. what did he say? do we know where he is or where prigozhin is right now? >> we know where vladimir putin is. he is ensconced inside the kremlin. for the first time, since the rebellion came to an end, vladimir putin appeared on state

television addressing the nation. that was an angry president we were watching. absolutely slamming the traitors who carried out or led this military uprising. the mutiny against him. he said they played in the hands of russia's enemies, spilling russian blood. he restated an offer he made before to the wagner fighters that took part. they can sign military contracts with the russian army. or they can go to the nei neighboring country of belarus. putin tried to get back the authority he has lost the past couple of days, saying it was because of him. he ordered the authorities to make sure there's as little

bloodshed as possible. this is a weaked and angry russian president. >> you reported in moscow for a long time. does it feel different tonight? >> i think it does. there's a lot of relief that the wagner forces didn't enter the city. there's a lot of anxiety, as well. what will vladimir putin do? in order to shore up his authority, that's been weakened. will the fact that one mutiny has taken place against vladimir putin. does that mean that others will follow, as well? what's been lost is this aura of

invinc invincibility. he was seen as a symbol of invincibility. saw him as a consistent figure to bring stability to the country. that isn't the case and that's concerning for people across the country. >> matthew chance, thank you for your reporting. let's bring the former ambassador to ukraine, william taylor. thank you for being here. so many analysts, saying this episode has weakened putin. is he significantly weakened? >> i think he is. >> i think he is weakened. he blinked and prigozhin blinked. they were both on a collision course. prigozhin barreling up from the south, towards moscow.

putin, blasting that saturday morning. the traitor, stabbing him in the back. what did he do? he called it all off. we're not going to arrest them and let them go to belarus. i don't know how that helps him at all. it removes him from the area, the league of great leaders. he was, as matthew said, was a source of stability. making good decision. he's made some bad decisions coming into this whole conflict. >> putin has no compulsion about having his enemies poisoned oer jailed. what is prigozhin going to do now? >> he needs to be worried.

belarus is part of the union state. that's a combination of belarus and russia. luke chen coe is not known to be a heavywieght. he's beholden to putin. people who cross putin, people who are accused of much less crimes than prigozhin have ended up dead. falling out of windows. poisoned. i would spend as little time as possible in belarus. >> erin burnett spoke to the prime ambassador to russia. and he said that putin looked nervous in his speech. what is your assessment? >> he looked angry.

he was not under control. never let them see you sweat. he was clearly angry. he's been dissed and disrespected. and challenged. not just by someone, but one of his own creacreations. putin made prigozhin. to have prigozhin, who putin thought was loyal, is not so loyal. he was on the way to confront putin. >> how do they capitalize on this? it seems that the wagner group may not be fighting there. >> you're right. this is time for the ukrainiukr. 25,000 to 50,000 of some of the best troops on the russian side.

ukrainians said, that they thought the wagner folks were fighting better, more comp competently than any of the ministry of defense portion. the rugss don't have those. they may not be available to act in reserve. they may be disbanded. there's that. ukrainian morale could not be higher. they were watching with amazement and amusement. disarray in the kremlin gives them an advantage. to the counteroffensive, you've been reporting. they've been preparing. and starting the conduct for weeks and months. they're ready. now that the russians are

somewhat weaker and it's in dis disarray. the military chain of command has to worry about domestic issues. >> bill taylor, thank you so much. thanks for all of the context tonight. >> thank you, allison. more on what this means for the front lines in ukraine, next. the first is fast, the second is long-lasting. we give you your day back, so you can give it everything. tylenol. number one doctor recommended for arthritis pain.

russian president vladimir putin managing to survive a failed uprising by boss yevgeny prigozhin. could this still lead to trouble on the front lines with the war in ukraine. that's what we posed to colonel sedrick layton.

>> i think the answer to this is yes. the you crepians were able to move in this general direction. they were able to capture several villages in this area, and the other village up in this area here. this one is important because it was actually a village that was controlled by the russians or surrogates since 2014. this is the first time that ukraine has been able to capture a village that was controlled by the russians since the beginning of this effort back in 2014. this marks a different aspect of the car and means the ukrainians have the capacity to take over areas that have captured by the russians and captured tall way back to 2014.

that spells trouble for the russians. they thought they could control this area and all of ukraine. the fact they can't do that is evidenced by the fact they have a weak defense effort in russia. that was evidenced during what happened during the mutiny, when prigozhin's forces in the wagner group were able to go all the way here. about 125 miles south of moscow. this shues a lot of weakness within the military structure. it could spell trouble for the russians because they are not able to respond to these threats, especially if they have weapons from the west backed up against that. what they are able to do with the weapons on the ukrainian side will determine if the ukrainians can actually take over these areas of their territory.

>> colonel, thank you so much. tomorrow on "cnn this morning," bank of america ceo is going to join live to talk new recession fears and whaet ahead for the u.s. economy. that starts at 6:00 a.m. eastern. tanks for watching tonight. our coverage continues. my br. so i choose neuriva plus. unlike some others, neuriva plus is a multitasker supporting 6 key indicators of brain health. to help keep me sharp. neuriva: think bigger.

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