Former President Donald Trump was accused of ordering a staffer to delete security footage by the Department of Justice, an accusation central to his case over the classified documents at his estate.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of violating the Espionage Act and conspiring to obstruct justice.
And he’s just revealed what he’ll say in court.
NBC News host Kristen Welker asked Trump about the hypothetical, deleted footage.
Trump said, “That’s false.”
After some pressure from Welker, Trump committed to repeating the same thing under oath.
“Sure,” Trump said. “I’m going to — I’ll testify.”
According to the indictment, Carlos De Oliveira — one of Trump’s co-defendants — stands accused of asking a Mar-a-Lago staffer to delete the footage for “the boss.”
However, both the co-defendants and the prosecutors agree that no one actually deleted the video.
Trump told Welker on Thursday —
More importantly, the tapes weren’t deleted… In other words, there was nothing done to them.
And they were my tapes. I could have fought them. I didn’t even have to give them the tapes, I don’t think…I think I would have won in court… When they asked for the tapes, I said, ‘Sure.’ They’re my tapes. I could have fought them. I didn’t even have to give them. Just so you understand, though, we didn’t delete anything. Nothing was deleted.
NBC News released an excerpt of Trump’s interview Thursday, with plans to release the whole thing Sunday morning at 9 EDT, the timeslot for “Meet the Press.”
That day, Welker is set to replace Chuck Todd as the host of “Meet the Press,” with Trump as her first sit-down interview.
Trump will also be breaking tradition. He’s set to appear on NBC News after years of reciprocating the mainstream media’s contempt for him.
The former president — and current presidential candidate — was referring to the federal case in Florida regarding his handling of documents. He’s also facing three other criminal indictments.
NBC News has also invited President Joe Biden to a sit-down interview.
Flashback! Donald Trump will return to mainstream media Sunday
The Horn editorial team