Trump: I Didn't Share Secrets With 'Red Haired Weirdo'

The name Anthony Pratt may not be familiar to most Americans, but the Australian billionaire finds himself in the headlines over his previous ties to former President Trump. Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that Trump, soon after leaving office, revealed sensitive information to Pratt about nuclear submarines while at Mar-a-Lago. And now 60 Minutes Australia has aired secret recordings of Pratt talking about Trump and recalling their conversations. Some samples of those:

• "It hadn't even been on the news yet and he [Trump] said, 'So I just bombed Iraq today,'" said Pratt, recalling a 2019 conversation. He said Trump boasted, "'And the president of Iraq called me up and said, you just leveled my city. 'And I said to him, OK, what are you going to do about it?'"
• Another: "Trump said, 'You know that Ukraine phone call? That was nothing compared to what I usually do.'" The reference was to the famous 2019 call to Volodymyr Zelensky, and Trump's push to get Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden's business dealings, per the Guardian.

• In the recordings, Pratt expressed admiration for Trump and Rudy Giuliani and compared Trump's business tactics to mafia tactics. Pratt added that Trump loves to shock but is wise about what he says. He knows "exactly what to say—and what not to say—so that he avoids jail. But gets so close to it that it looks to everyone like he's breaking the law."
• Trump responds: In a Truth Social post, Trump called Pratt a "red haired weirdo" and denied speaking to him about nuclear submarines. (Pratt reportedly has told prosecutors about that conversation.) He said they instead talked about "creating jobs in Ohio and Pennsylvania, because that's what I'm all about." Trump once toured an Ohio factory opened by Pratt, who owns paper and packaging giant Visy.
• A witness? Pratt is listed as a possible witness by special counsel Jack Smith in the case about Trump's handling of classified documents, notes the New York Times, which takes a longer look at how Pratt and Trump's ties forged at Mar-a-Lago.

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