Trump claims he doesn’t know what burner phones are but used the term three times in lawsuit against niece

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Attorneys for former president Donald Trump used the term “burner phones” — a slang term used to describe an untraceable mobile phone which he has denied knowing — in a September 2021 civil lawsuit, according to court documents. But the former president’s own lawyer, Anina Habba, used the term three times in a lawsuit against Mr Trump’s niece — author Mary Trump — as well as The New York Times and a trio of Pulitzer-prize winning reporters who, with Ms Trump’s help, uncovered a massive tax fraud scheme allegedly perpetrated by Mr Trump and his siblings. In the complaint filed in a Dutchess County, New York court, Mr Trump, through Ms Habba, said New York Times reporter Suzanne Craig “provided Mary Trump with a ‘burner’ phone in an attempt to conceal their communications”. Mr Trump’s third national security adviser, Ambassador John Bolton, also cast doubt on Mr Trump’s denial of knowing the meaning of “burner phone,” telling CBS News that he recalled specific discussions with Mr Trump in which the former president made clear he understood such phones were used to shield call records from scrutiny.