Trump Said to Have Revealed Nuclear Submarine Secrets to Australian Businessman

After leaving his role as president, Donald J. Trump shared important information about American nuclear submarines with an Australian businessman at his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, say sources. The businessman, Anthony Pratt, who's a billionaire and a member of Mar-a-Lago, later shared these details with others, potentially putting the U.S. nuclear fleet at risk.

Federal prosecutors, led by special counsel Jack Smith, found out about Trump's disclosure to Pratt and interviewed Pratt as part of their investigation into how the former president handled classified information. Pratt is now considered one of over 80 possible witnesses for the upcoming trial in May in Florida.

Even though Pratt's name isn't in the indictment against Trump, the account of Trump discussing sensitive nuclear details with him could help prosecutors show that Trump habitually mishandled classified information. This reveals that the special prosecutor's office may have more information not known to the public.

During the conversation, Trump shared at least two critical pieces of information about U.S. submarines, including the number of nuclear warheads they carried and their proximity capabilities to Russian submarines without detection.

There's no evidence that Trump showed Pratt any classified documents, although the FBI had previously seized over 100 documents from Mar-a-Lago, some marked with the highest security classification. Trump had returned other documents earlier in response to a subpoena.

Spokespersons for Trump and Smith did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and it's unclear whether Trump was exaggerating or boasting in his conversation with Pratt.

Joe Hockey, a former Australian ambassador, downplayed Trump's disclosures, saying that Australia and the U.S. have shared submarine technology for years.

This incident fits a pattern of Trump blurring public office and private interests. Pratt, a billionaire with one of the world's largest cardboard companies, established a relationship with Trump during his presidency, joining Mar-a-Lago and hosting him at one of his company's plants in Ohio.

This revelation comes amid previous instances where Trump shared classified information, such as revealing intelligence to Russian officials in 2017 and posting a classified photo on social media during his presidency. The indictment also accuses Trump of showing a classified battle plan to attack Iran to visitors at his New Jersey club.

Since leaving office, Trump no longer receives intelligence briefings, as President Biden cut them off due to concerns about Trump's actions following the 2020 election and the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021.