President Trump suggested his May tweet warning former FBI Director James Comey about possible “tapes” of their one-on-one conversations may have kept the terminated intelligence official from making up information about their encounters, according to a Fox News interview that aired Friday.
“But when he found out that I, you know, that there may be tapes out there, whether it’s governmental tapes or anything else, and who knows, I think his story may have changed,” Trump told Fox News.
“I mean, you’ll have to take a look at that because then he has to tell what actually took place at the events,” Trump added. “And my story didn’t change. My story was always a straight story. My story was always the truth, but you’ll have to determine for yourself whether or not his story changed.”
.@realDonaldTrump to @ainsleyearhardt: My story didnt change. My story was always the straight story. My story was always the truth. pic.twitter.com/SgLHoYua8f— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 23, 2017
On Thursday, Trump admitted on Twitter that he has “no idea” if there are recordings of his conversations with Comey.
“With all of the recently reported electronic surveillance, intercepts, unmasking and illegal leaking of information, I have no idea … whether there are ‘tapes’ or recordings of my conversations with James Comey, but I did not make, and do not have, any such recordings,” Trump wrote in two separate tweets.
When asked if his initial tweet from May was a smart way to ensure Comey stayed honest in congressional hearings, Trump said, “it wasn’t very stupid, I can tell you that.”
“He did admit that what I said was right. And if you look further back, before he heard about that, I think maybe he wasn’t admitting that,” Trump added. “So you’ll have to do a little investigative reporting to determine that. But I don’t think it will be that hard.”
Democrats were left outraged at Trump for suggesting that tapes might exist, and then saying Thursday that he was not aware of any tapes. The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., indicated that Democrats would continue to examine whether any tapes exist, despite Trump’s announcement.
“While I would certainly hope that the president’s most recent statement is true, we will continue to pursue the matter with other witnesses so that the public can be assured that if recordings were ever made, they will be preserved and be made available to the committee and ultimately to the public, as well,” Schiff said.
Meanwhile, the White House said Trump has no regrets for implying tapes might exist.
“I don’t think so,” White House deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters Thursday when asked if he regretted the post.
