Special counsel obtains July 2021 audio of Trump discussing document he had that was still classified

Washington — Federal investigators have obtained an audio recording of former President Donald Trump in which he acknowledges he held onto a classified Pentagon document after he left the White House, according to people familiar with the matter. 

The recording — from a July 2021 meeting at Trump's golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey — is a crucial piece of evidence that prosecutors in special counsel Jack Smith's office obtained in recent months and presented in grand-jury proceedings examining the former president's retention of sensitive records and possible obstruction of the investigation, the people said.  

CNN first reported the existence of the audio tape and prosecutors' possession of the recording.