Donald Trump has effectively accused James Comey of perjury. If the president is going to back that up, he’ll need to release the tapes — if they exist.<\/b>
\nDonald Trump didn\u2019 t just accuse James Comey of lying to the public; the president also argued his new nemesis lied to Congress while under oath. That\u2019s no small charge: when a sitting president effectively says the former director of the FBI committed perjury, it requires some follow-up.
More specifically, it requires that president to back up those allegations in some meaningful way. In this case, that means Trump could deliver his own sworn testimony, which the president has said he\u2019s prepared to do. On CBS News\u2019 \u201cFace the Nation\u201d yesterday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, \u201cI would like to invite the president to testify before the Senate. I think we could work out a way it could be dignified, public, with questions, with [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell.\u201d
Trump could also, meanwhile, turn over White House recordings of the president\u2019s conversations \u2013 if they exist. Asked about the possibility of such tapes, Trump told reporters on Friday, \u201cWell, I\u2019 ll tell you about that maybe sometime in the very near future.\u201d What that means is anybody\u2019s guess. (A day earlier, a White House spokesperson, asked if such recordings have been made, replied, \u201cI have no idea.\u201d)
Congress is starting to take the possibility of such tapes quite seriously. Politico reported:
They aren\u2019 t alone.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) , the ranking member of Senate Judiciary Committee, and a veteran lawmaker with a reputation for an understated demeanor, said on Twitter yesterday, \u201cRelease the tapes, Mr. President! What are you afraid of?\u201d
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) also said yesterday, in reference to Trump, \u201cHe should voluntarily turn them over not only to the Senate Intelligence Committee, but to the special counsel\u2026. I don\u2019 t understand why the president just doesn\u2019 t clear this matter up once and for all.\u201d
Soon after, Chuck Schumer issued a public challenge: \u201cPresident Trump: if you disagree with anything the Director said today, play the tapes for all of America to hear. Or admit that there are no tapes.\u201d
As we discussed a month ago, it was Trump himself who broached the subject unprompted, raising the possibility of secret recordings he\u2019s made. In the weeks that have followed, the White House has refused to comment further on the subject.
Comey, in last week\u2019s testimony, said he has no idea if the recordings exist, but he has a preference: \u201cLordy, \u201d he told senators, \u201cI hope there are tapes.\u201d
If there aren\u2019 t, I\u2019 ll look forward to Trump World explaining why the president would publicly reference the possibility of recordings that exist only in Trump\u2019s imagination.<\/p>\n

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