Admits to Fox's Bret Baier he kept documents and couldn't declassify them after leaving office

In a Fox News interview with Bret Baier, Trump made statements that prosecutors would later cite as admissions of guilt. When Baier pressed him on keeping classified documents, Trump acknowledged possessing them and admitted he couldn't declassify them after leaving office — directly contradicting his 'standing order' defense. Trump's own lawyers had reportedly advised him against the interview. The special counsel's team filed the interview as evidence in the federal case.

"I had every right to do it. I didn't have to declassify them... But I can't declassify now. Now I'm no longer president." — Fox News interview with Bret Baier, June 19, 2023