No Trump-Comey Tapes

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Trump earlier accused former FBI director James Comey of lying under oath.

Asked if their conversations were taped, he said he'd explain in "a short period of time," adding "(y)ou're going to be very disappointed."

In mid-May, he tweeted "James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!"

Days earlier, he tweeted "(w)ith all of the recently reported electronic surveillance, intercepts, unmasking and illegal leaking of information, I have no idea...

…whether there are 'tapes' or recordings of my conversations with James Comey, but I did not make, and do not have, any such recordings."

Separately on Thursday, deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump was "very clear" in tweeting he didn't make and doesn't have tapes of his conversations with Comey.

So there's no way to know if his version of what they discussed or Comey's is correct - unless Trump lied and/or the former FBI director has recordings of their conversations, perhaps by phone, unlikely in their face-to-face meetings unless he wore a wire.

Few if any presidents recorded Oval Office conversations since the Nixon era. We know how that turned out.

In mid-June, Judicial Watch said it wrote acting FBI director Andrew McCabe, informing him of his legal responsibility under the Federal Records Act to recover memos Comey leaked to The NYT, JD president Tom Fitton, saying:

Comey memos as FBI director "were written on his FBI laptop, and concerned official government business. As such, they indisputably are records subject to the Federal Records Act. 44 U.S.C. §§ 2101-18, 2901-09, 3101-07, and 3301-14." 

"The fact that Mr. Comey removed these memoranda from the FBI upon his departure, apparently for the purpose of subsequently leaking them to the press, confirms the FBI's failure to retain and properly manage its records in accordance with the Federal Records Act." 

"Even if Mr. Comey no longer has possession of these particular memoranda, as he now claims, some or all of these memoranda may still be in possession of a third party, such as Professor Richman, and must be recovered." 

"Mr. Comey's removal of these memoranda also suggests that other records may have been removed by Mr. Comey and may remain in his possession or in the possession of others. If so, these records must be recovered by the FBI as well."

The apparent nonexistent Comey tapes are unrelated to congressional and special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of (nonexistent) illegal or improper Trump team dealings with Russia and (nonexistent) Trump obstruction of justice.

His real high crimes are excluded from these investigations because nearly the entire Congress shares guilt, along with earlier presidents - notably the Clintons, Bush/Cheney and Obama.

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