James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017
The tweet is clearly a threat against Comey and the comments he coul make about his conversations with Donald Trump, including the dinner conversation in which Trump demanded loyalty from Comey.
But the most damning part about the threat is the fact that Trump is suggesting the existance of recordings of his conversations with Comey. And Trump makes the suggestion in a way makes it clear Trump recorded Comey, not the other way around. Essentially, Trump is saying that if Comey says something about Trump, Trump will show the recordings.
This is wrong for three reasons:
1. Since the 1970s the White House stopped recording conversations because they can be subpoenaed by investigators. The recordings stopped after the Watergate scandal that ended up in the resignation of Richard Nixon. If the White House is recording conversations again, it would be unsanctioned by anyone and without the kowledge of the people being recorded.
2. It is illegal to record somebody else (that is, to spy) without that person's knowledge unless there's a court order. If Trump recorded Comey, that would turn the recordings into illegal wiretapping.
3. Trump has been claiming for months now that Barack Obama wiretapped him. No only there is no evidence of that claim, but now Trump is essentially admitting he is doing the very thing he accused Obama of doing.
The tweet was so scandalous that even Fox News had to ask Trump about it. But Trump didn't answer. According to The New York Times, Trump just said “That I can’t talk about. I won’t talk about it. All I want is for Comey to be honest.”
Of course he can't talk about it. If he does, he would be openning himself to criminal charges. But he said it! And that's also the reason why Sean Spicer did not answer the question about Trump recording his conversations when the press repeatedly asked him about it. All Spicer responded was “The president has nothing further to add on that.”
But hen Spicer contradicted himself. First he said Trump's tweet was not a threat and then he claimed Trump “simply stated a fact. The tweet speaks for itself. I’m moving on.”
Simply states a fact? What fact is that? That Trump is in fact recording people without their knowledge?
By the way; that's not a denial. The fact that Spicer and Trump refuse to confirm the existance of recordings by Trump only adds to the suspicion that Trump indeed has them.
In fact, The New York Times reported that Trump has been known to record his phone calls and meetings:
Allies and former employees of Mr. Trump have long said that he taped some of his own phone calls, as well as meetings in Trump Tower. During the campaign, Mr. Trump’s aides told reporters that they feared their offices were bugged and that they were careful about what they said.
To make matters worse, this isn't even the first time that Trump has threatened with exposing dirty laundry against people:
He threatened on Twitter to tell stories about Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, the hosts of “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, after they criticized him. He threatened to air unspecified dirty laundry about the wealthy Ricketts family as it financed efforts against him. And competing with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas for the Republican nomination, he threatened to “spill the beans on your wife!”
Well, at least one member of Congress, California Representative Adam Shiff, took the latest threat from Trump seriously and asked for Trump's tapes to be handed over to Congress:
Mr. President, if there are "tapes" relevant to the Comey firing, it's because you made them and they should be provided to Congress. https://t.co/rztyxG6Ytt— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) May 12, 2017
Shiff also issued a statement on the Trump tweets:
“Today, the President made two extraordinary statements, one intended to threaten the FBI Director he just fired in the middle of the Russia investigation – and who may now be a witness – and the other to justify the misleading and conflicting explanations that he and his staff have given for that firing.
“If the President has "tapes" of his conversations with Director Comey, it is because the President himself made them. For a President who baselessly accused his predecessor of illegally wiretapping him, that Mr. Trump would suggest that he, himself, may have engaged in such conduct is staggering. The President should immediately provide any such recordings to Congress or admit, once again, to have made a deliberately misleading – and in this case threatening – statement.
“Finally, and with respect to the President's suggestion that as a very busy person, he doesn't have time to ensure that his spokespeople are accurately portraying his actions – it is difficult to know how to respond – except to say, being truthful with the American people is a core responsibility of the job. If he did not want to willingly undertake even the minimal requirements of the Presidency, it would have been far better for him to have considered that before he chose to run for the highest office in the land.”
In other words, "pics or it didn't happen."
Or to put it another way, either Trump turns over the tapes to Congress, or Trump must admit he was lying about the existance of tapes.
As per Comey, a source close to the former FBI director told CNN that Comey is not worried about anything on any tapes should they exist:
News: Source tells @PamelaBrownCNN that Comey “not worried about any tapes,” adds, “if there is a tape, there’s nothing he is worried about”— David Wright (@DavidWright_CNN) May 12, 2017
Which pretty much sounds like a "bring it on" from Comey.
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