The Secret Service doesn’t have audio recordings or transcriptions of conversations between President Trump and former FBI Director James Comey.
The Secret Service doesn’t have audio recordings or transcriptions of conversations between President Trump and former FBI Director James Comey, the agency told the Wall Street Journal.
The Secret Service, which has handled recording systems for previous presidents, responded back to the Journal’s Freedom of Information Act request Monday.
The agency’s answer doesn’t exclude the possibility that recordings may have been created by another government entity, the paper pointed out.
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Trump first raised the spectre of a White House recording system last month, in a tweet that he dashed off three days after firing Comey.
‘James Comey better hope that there are no « tapes » of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!’ the president tweeted on May 12.
Last Thursday, Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that it was this tweet that prompted him to leak his memos, via a law professor friend from Columbia University, to the press.
He also said he hoped that Trump had taped their conversation and would, in turn, release them publicly.
‘I’ve seen the tweet about the tapes, ‘ Comey said. ‘Lordy, I hope there are tapes, ‘ the ex-FBI boss added, in one of the most quotable moments of his testimony.
Trump kept the door open to the existence of tapes when he spoke to reporters Friday in the Rose Garden.
‘I’ll tell you about that maybe sometime in the very near future, ‘ the president said. ‘Oh, you’re going to be disappointed when you hear the answer, don’t worry.’
Trump’s comments have caused his aides to be unable to provide a definitive answer.
Press Secretary Sean Spicer said he was ‘not aware’ of recordings, while his deputy, Sarah Huckabee Sanders gave a cheekier response.
‘Sure, I’ll try to look under the couches, ‘ she answered when asked to clear the question up.
At the beginning of Monday’s press briefing, Spicer merely repeated his boss.
‘The president made clear in the Rose Garden last week that he would have an announcement shortly, ‘ the press secretary said.
In answering the Wall Street Journal the Secret Service said, ‘In response to your request, the Secret Service has conducted a reasonable search for responsive records, ‘ the agency wrote.
‘It appears, from a review of Secret Service’s main indices, that there are no records pertaining to your request that are referenced in these indices, ‘ it continued.
The records, had they existed, may not have been publicly released immediately anyways, as they fall under the Presidential Records Act, which are not necessarily subject to FOIA, especially while the president is still in office.
Similar records are turned over to the National Archives and the Records Administration after a president’s tenure is through.
