Thread by @costareports

(Thread) learning some new things this morning about WHY this all happened and the motivation, especially for the audio from 2021 discussing classified material. In short, it comes down to one person: *Milley.* Trump loathed his coverage in press, in books, per multiple sources…

As Trump fumed in post-presidency period about Milley, in his view, being cast as a hero and himself as an insurrectionist, he began to talk regularly about Milley in 2021, dismissing him and bringing up stories that made Milley seem unintelligent and untrustworthy, per sources

Trump’s anger about Milley led him to be cavalier about what he said about Milley and their interactions & policy decisions, and it frustrates some aides who notices how he would veer into dicey/near classified material in convos. Then Trump started to do interviews for books…

While Trump didn’t speak to us for Peril, he spoke to a lot of others at the same time in 2021 as he was lashing out at Milley in private. These dynamics began to collide as Trump sat down with people, with him pulling out documents and memos from the WH to make his points…

And when people would come by to hear Trump go on and on about his presidency, and often rant about Milley, Trump's aides would also be recording the conversations, in case they ever wanted to contest what was later written. That included when Meadows's ghostwriters stopped by...

"The audio, recorded by a Trump aide, includes remarks Trump made to two ghostwriters for his last chief of staff, Mark Meadows." cbsnews.com/news/trump-law…

Sometimes aides & visitors weren't even sure if what Trump was talking about on national security or military matters was true or if docs Trump mentioned existed, sources recalled. But Trump seemed to talk a lot about Milley and his own view of what really happened on that front.

Initially, Trump's boasts & recollections about Milley and decisions and various points of intel/policy seemed to be a shrug, not much news. But after special counsel heard that these chats were recorded, they became key evidence items, giving glimpse into how & why he had docs.

So what began as an attempt to keep some docs from Crossfire Hurricane + other episodes that frustrated him, eventually became situation where he began to cite what he had about an issue that gnawed at him: Milley's public profile + what he saw as reputation building by the Gen.

And it's in the Milley-related exchanges where Trump might have treaded into waters that the special counsel is now scrutinizing intently, esp if those docs had any markings related to sources and methods. So obstruction is key part of case but retention and motivation also key.

As s. counsel picked up speed, the Meadows area of both probes (Jan. 6, docs) quickly became a rich area for pros. to mine, per people familiar with witnesses/Qs asked... Meadows orbit asked about book project + audio, plus about what Meadows knew re: Jan. 2021 removal of docs.

Trump World has been watching this closely, knowing who's going in and out of the grand jury for both cases because they all know each other... they began to noticee that Meadows cooperated more than most (remember the texts/J6 cmmte) and was under intense pressure from feds...

They also began to notice how he's been quiet, even when they run into him at events. He's active in some Hill activities, but they wonder what exactly is going on with him and his former aides, in terms of what he has said about Trump and who's responsible for docs exiting WH.