PURPORTS TO BE WE ARE NOW ABLE TO HEAR IT IN FULL. JOINING US NOW IS BARBARA McQUAID FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN AND PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SCHOOL OF LAW. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING WITH US TONIGHT. I AM SO GLAD WE WERE ABLE TO GET YOU HERE FOR THIS STORY WITH THIS LATE BREAKING NEWS. >> GLAD TO BE HERE, RACHEL. >> LET ME GET YOUR TOP LINE REACTION. WE OBVIOUSLY HAD SOME OF THIS TAPE DESCRIBED IN THE INDICTMENT LINE FOR LINE. THERE WERE SO ELLIPSES IN THE INDICTMENT. NOT EVERY LINE ON THE TAPE IS REFLECTED IN THE INDICTMENT. IT STRIKES ME AS POTENTIALLY IMPORTANT WHEN TRUMP SAYS EXPLICITLY THESE ARE THE PAPERS. WHICH WOULD SEEM TO CAST NO DOUBT ON WHETHER OR NOT HE WAS ACTUALLY HOLDING PAPERS THAT HE WAS DESCRIBING TO THIS WRITER BUT AS A PROSECUTOR AS A FORMER PROSECUTOR, AS A LAWYER, HOW DO YOU HEAR THIS AS EVIDENCE? >> WELL I HAVE TWO REACTIONS TO IT. ONE AS A FORMER PROSECUTOR IT MAKES MY HAIR STAND ON END A LITTLE BIT TO SEE THIS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. PROSECUTORS TRY TO KEEP THIS STUFF SAFEGUARDED SO YOU CAN'T HAVE WITNESS TAMPERING AND CROWD SOURCING OF DEFENSES. NOW PEOPLE CAN BECAUSE THIS IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. AS A MATTER OF EVIDENCE THIS IS REALLY POWERFUL EVIDENCE. WE HAD SEEN SOME VERBATIM QUOTES FROM THIS RECORDING THAT WAS IN THE INDICTMENT BUT TO HEAR THE WHOLE THING PLAY OUT, I THINK, IS INCREDIBLE EVIDENCE. AND AT TRIAL, IT WILL NOT JUST BE THIS RECORDING THAT'S PLAYED IN A VACUUM. THEY WILL HAVE TO AUTHENTICATE THIS DOCUMENT, THIS RECORDING WITH SOMEONE WHO WAS THERE. SO WHETHER IT IS THE BIOGRAPHER OR THE PUBLISHER OR ONE OF THE TWO STAFFERS, ONE OR MORE OF THEM WILL HAVE TO BE THERE. AND ONE QUESTION I THINK THEY'LL BE ASKED IS DID YOU LOOK AT IT? BECAUSE IT SURE SOUNDS LIKE THEY ARE SHOWING IT TO THEM AND THEY ARE ACTUALLY READING IT. SO I THINK IT PROVES A COUPLE THINGS. ONE AS YOU SAID, HIS KNOWLEDGE AND INTENT WHICH IS IMPORTANT HERE ABOUT THAT HE IS WILLFULLY VILE THE LAW, AND THE OTHER IS THE INCREDIBLE RECKLESSNESS WITH WHICH HE IS TREATING OUR NATIONAL SECRETS. IT IS A VERY POWERFUL PIECE OF EVIDENCE. >> LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT THE FACT THAT WHEN YOU HEAR THIS IT SEEMS THE PERSON HE IS IN CONVERSATION WITH IS LOOKING AT THE DOCUMENTS. I GOT THE SENSE, I GOT SORT OF THAT AS A VAGUE IMPRESSION FROM READING IT IN THE INDICTMENT. HEARING IT THAT SEEMS MUCH MORE CLEAR. AGAIN, THAT PART OF THE TAPE I HAVE A BIG PILE OF PAPERS. THIS THING JUST CAME UP. LOOK. THIS WAS HIM. MARK MILLEY. THEY PRESENTED ME THIS. THIS IS OFF THE RECORD BUT THEY PRESENTED ME THIS. THIS WAS HIM. THIS WAS THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT AND HIM. AND THEN THE PERSON HE IS SPEAKING TO, THE WRITER SAYS, WOW. AS IF THEY ARE LOOKING AT THE THING HE IS IMPLORING THE PERSON TO LOOK AT. THIS WASN'T DONE BY ME. THIS WAS HIM. ALL SORTS OF STUFF PAGES LONG. LOOK. WHEN THE WRITER, THE OTHER PERSON IN THE ROOM SAYS, WOW, IT DOES APPEAR THAT HE WASN'T JUST, YOU KNOW, WAVING IT IN THE DISTANCE SHOWING THAT PAPERS EXISTED BUT RATHER ASKING THE PERSON TO VIEW THE CONTENT OF THAT MATERIAL. AND THAT DOES JUST AS A LAY PERSON MAKES ME WONDER WHY DISSEMINATION OF CLASSIFIED MATERIAL WASN'T CHARGED. IT DOES SEEM LIKE THEY'VE GOT EVIDENCE HE SHOWED IT TO AT LEAST ONE OTHER PERSON. >> YEAH, THAT IS HOW IT LANDS WITH ME AS WELL. AND AS WE SAID, I THINK THEY'RE GOING TO CALL THAT WITNESS. THEY GOT THIS RECORDING FROM SOMEBODY. MY GUESS IS IT CAME THROUGH SOME SORT OF GRAND JURY SUBPOENA OR REQUEST FROM THE PERSON WHO WAS IN THE ROOM RECORDING IT FOR THE PURPOSE OF GATHERING INFORMATION FOR THIS BIOGRAPHY. AND SO CERTAINLY IT IS A SEPARATE CRIME TO DISCLOSE CLASSIFIED INFORMATION TO A PERSON WHO IS NOT AUTHORIZED TO RECEIVE IT. THAT COULD BE ANOTHER CHARGE. MY GUESS IS, THIS OCCURRED IN BEDMINSTER I BELIEVE IN NEW JERSEY AND SO IT WOULD BE TECHNICALLY IMPROPER TO CHARGE IT IN FLORIDA BECAUSE THERE WOULD NOT BE PROPER VENUE THERE. BUT I KNOW SOME HAVE SUGGESTED PERHAPS THIS IS A CHARGE PROSECUTORS ARE KEEPING IN THEIR POCKET THAT COULD BE FILED IN A THEN SEALING IT. >> I THINK THAT IS RIGHT. WHICH STRIKES ME AS THE RIGHT BALANCE. >> INVALUABLE TO HAVE YOU HERE TONIGHT.
