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Trump suggests he was trying to keep Comey honest with ‘tapes’ tweet

Donald Trump says he does not have recordings of his private conversations with former FBI director James Comey.

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Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump has suggested he was just trying to keep fired FBI director James Comey honest with his cryptic tweet implying there might be recordings of their private conversations.

Mr Trump ended a month-long guessing game on Thursday by tweeting that he never made and does not have recordings of his private conversations with Mr Comey.

In an interview that aired on Friday on Fox & Friends, Mr Trump said: “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.”

Asked if he was trying to keep Mr Comey honest, Mr Trump added: “It wasn’t very stupid, I can tell you that. He was – he did admit that what I said was right.”

The tapes saga began in May, just days after Mr Trump fired Mr Comey, who was then leading an investigation into Trump associates’ ties to Russian officials.

Mr Trump has disputed Mr Comey’s version of a January dinner during which, according to Mr Comey, the president asked for a pledge of loyalty. Mr Trump responded at that time, via Twitter, that Mr Comey “better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!”

Mr Trump, in the Fox News Channel interview, did not say exactly what he thought had changed about Mr Comey’s story.

Donald Trump
Donald Trump fired James Comey, who was leading an investigation into Trump associates’ ties to Russian officials (Alex Brandon/AP)

The former FBI director has only offered his story publicly once, in testimony before the Senate intelligence committee, although his associates provided some details to the news media before that.

Mr Comey testified that he had told the president in multiple conversations he was not personally under federal investigation and said the president implored him to make that public. Mr Trump has seized on that statement as vindication, though the investigation continues, as do congressional inquiries.

Mr Comey also said that Mr Trump asked him for “loyalty” – which Mr Trump emphatically denies.

Mr Trump’s initial Twitter missive about the possibility of tapes triggered a series of consequences, each weightier than the last.

Donald Trump has criticised the former FBI director on Twitter (J David Ake/AP)
Donald Trump has criticised the former FBI director on Twitter (J David Ake/AP)

Mr Comey has suggested that the tweet prompted him to ask an associate to release damaging information to The New York Times.

The resulting news reports built pressure on a top justice department official to appoint an independent prosecutor to oversee the Russia investigation. That special counsel, former FBI director Robert Mueller, is now reportedly investigating Mr Trump’s own actions in a probe that could dog his presidency for the foreseeable future.

Mr Trump showed concern about that situation as well, telling Fox that Mr Mueller is “very, very good friends with Comey which is bothersome”.

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