Melania's Ex-Aide 'Watched' Trump Show Off Classified Docs At Mar-A-Lago

Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham claimed in an interview Sunday that she saw former President Donald Trump show classified documents to individuals at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida while in office.

During an interview with MSNBC's Alex Witt, Grisham, who also served as former first lady Melania Trump's chief of staff and press secretary, discussed Trump's indictment over his handling of sensitive government documents that were found at his estate.

"The short answer is yes," Grisham replied when Witt asked her if she believed Trump was showing classified documents to people in private meetings.

"I watched him show documents to people at Mar-a-Lago on the dining room patio. So he has no respect for classified information. Never did," she claimed.

Grisham also said that she became upset after hearing in a secretly recorded conversation played by MSNBC Trump speaking freely about the documents he "could have declassified."

"He talks specifically that he should have declassified it, but he didn't. So there, I think, is proof. I believe also there's a portion of that audio where he says, you know, this is off the record," she said. "And I know Donald Trump knows the rules of reporters, and he knows if it needs to be off the record that they can't talk about it. So I think he was covering himself in that regard."

The former White House official stressed during the interview how hard it was for staffers to get security clearance for classified documents.

"I just want to say to your viewers, I don't think people understand how hard it is to get your classified permission. I remember when I was going through it to get all of mine. I got held up because of a $13 KinderCare bill that I did not know about, and so I couldn't get it," Grisham said.

"They go through everything about it. It's very difficult to get a security clearance, and I think people miss that in the weeds, obviously. But to be showing it to people who haven't gone through the extreme vetting that you go through to get a clearance, it's a disservice to the country, but it also puts people in danger potentially," she added.

When Witt asked the longtime Republican aide if she was offended that Trump allegedly showed sensitive documents to people without determining if they were allowed to see them or not, Grisham answered in the affirmative as secret information, when it gets out, could have adverse consequences to the country's national security.

"I can't stress enough how by being so loose with this stuff, he's potentially putting people in danger," Grisham told Witt. "And yeah, I had a top security clearance and it's very, very hard to obtain. So it's very important and it's vital to our country and our national security. The only people with these clearances have access to any of these documents."

Grisham was one of the earliest supporters of Trump in 2016. She resigned from the administration in January 2021 in the aftermath of the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol.

She has been a vocal critic of the former president since then, and even recounted her time working in the administration in her memoir, "I'll Take Your Questions Now," published in 2021.