Trump reportedly shared nuclear sub secrets with Australian billionaire

Donald Trump and Anthony Pratt, the Australian billionaire

(Image credit: Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images))

published 6 October 2023

A few months after he left office, former President Donald Trump shared at least two sensitive, critical pieces of information about U.S. nuclear submarines with an Australian billionaire and Mar-a-Lago member, ABC News reported Thursday night, citing people familiar with the matter. The billionaire, cardboard magnate Anthony Pratt, then reportedly "described Trump's remarks to at least 45 others, including six journalists, 11 of his company's employees, 10 Australian officials and three former Australian prime ministers."

Trump's disclosures about the nautical leg of America's nuclear triad — the number of nuclear warheads the submarines routinely carry and exactly how close they can get to Russian subs without being detected — "potentially endangered the U.S. nuclear fleet," The New York Times reported, citing two sources who confirmed ABC News' scoop.

Trump allegedly discussed US nuclear subs with foreign national: Sources | ABCNL - YouTube

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FBI agents and prosecutors working for special counsel Jack Smith's office interviewed Pratt at least twice this year, ABC News and the Times reported, though he is not mentioned in Smith's indictment of Trump for his retention and alleged mishandling of classified national security secrets.

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Pratt is, however, "among more than 80 people whom prosecutors have identified as possible witnesses" to testify against Trump at his federal trial, the Times reported. Pratt's testimony that "Trump discussed some of the country's most sensitive nuclear secrets with him in a cavalier fashion could help prosecutors establish that the former president had a long habit of recklessly handling classified information."

A former Mar-a-Lago employee also told investigators he overheard Pratt relaying Trump's nuclear sub comments to someone else just minutes later, and was "bothered" and "shocked" Trump had shared such apparently sensitive information with a non-U.S. citizen, ABC News reported.

A Trump spokesperson said the "leaks" shared with ABC News lack "proper context and relevant information," adding that Trump "did nothing wrong" and "acted in a proper manner, according to the law."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.