President Donald Trump’s counsel has just two weeks to hand over, if they exist at all, recorded “tapes” of conversations Trump had with fired FBI director James Comey to the House panel probing alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Trump teased reporters Friday that they would be “very disappointed” when it is finally confirmed, “in a very short period of time, ” whether or not there are actual recordings of Trump and Comey’s intimate conversations.
The same day, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence sent a letter to White House Counsel Don McGahn formally requesting any recordings or memoranda that “now exist or have in the past” and to send the committee copies of any such material by June 23.
Trump first alluded to the so-called “tapes” in a May 12 tweet, following Comey’s claim of written memos on his personal meetings with the president.
On Thursday, Comey confirmed to the Senate Intelligence Committee that he did write the memos, which he then turned over to his friend Professor Daniel Richman of Columbia Law School to leak to the press.
“Lordy, I hope there are tapes, ” Comey testified, The Hill reported .
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and several committee members of each party also wrote a letter to Richman, requesting Comey’s memos, according to The Hill. The House intel panel is in turn requesting Comey himself to provide any memos still in his possession.
