Exclusive Audio of Trump Talking Classified Docs Delivers CNN Something It Hasn’t Experienced in a While — Relevance

CNN
(Image credit: Photo Illustration by Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

As Elisabeth Moss’s memorable Mad Men character Peggy Olson once remarked in a Sterling Cooper pitch meeting, ”If you don't like what people are saying about you, change the conversation.” 

Credit CNN with doing just that Monday.

The cable news network, which generated big headlines earlier this month after it fired its top executive, Chris Licht, came up with the scoop of the month when it exclusively obtained audio recordings of former President Donald Trump appearing to illegally and insecurely discuss classified documents containing U.S. military invasion plans in a conversation recorded in 2021. 

“This is secret information,” Trump says in the recording, making what appears to be a criminally damning admission. 

This audio recording is expected to be a central piece of evidence in the U.S. Justice Department’s ongoing indictment of the former president. 

You can read CNN's digital report and listen to the audio here. You can also see Anderson Cooper's report here

Linear ratings haven’t been reported, but CNN — which had its big scoop featured at the top of The Drudge Report late Monday — is almost assuredly up over what have been record-low audiences of late for the cable news channel. 

Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!