Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Sunday said that if President Donald Trump recorded his conversations with former FBI Director James Comey, he should hand them over to Congress.
“If there are tapes, the President should turn them over immediately, of course,” Schumer said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
He warned Trump that destroying such recordings “would be a violation of law.”
“He should turn them over to Congress and to the investigators,” Schumer said. “If there are no tapes, he should apologize to both Jim Comey and the American people for misleading them.”
Trump on Friday appeared to warn Comey against speaking to the press amid unflattering reports regarding Comey’s abrupt termination.
“James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!” Trump tweeted.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer subsequently said he was “not aware” whether Trump recorded his conversations with the former FBI head, and refused to clarify whether the President records conversations in the Oval Office.
“That’s not a threat. He simply stated a fact,” Spicer said. “The tweet speaks for itself. I’m moving on.”
Democratic lawmakers asked the White House to turn over any such recordings, alleging that Trump’s tweet raised the possibility of “obstruction of justice.”
An unnamed source “familiar with the matter” told CNN on Friday, however, that Comey is “not worried about any tapes” Trump may have made of their conversations.
“He hopes there are tapes,” NBC’s Ken Dilanian reported on Friday, citing an unnamed source close to Comey. “That would be perfect.”
On #CNNSOTU @SenSchumer tells @JakeTapper that @realDonaldTrump needs to turn over any White House tapes https://t.co/e4rxyasfZm
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) May 14, 2017
