Rep. Adam Schiff demanded that Trump turn over any secret recordings that he made in the White House to Congress, as the Russia scandal has taken another bad turn for Trump.
In a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, Rep. Schiff (D-CA) said:
Today, the President made two extraordinary statements, one intended to threaten the FBI Director he just fired in the middle of the Russia investigation – and who may now be a witness – and the other to justify the misleading and conflicting explanations that he and his staff have given for that firing.
If the President has “tapes” of his conversations with Director Comey, it is because the President himself made them. For a President who baselessly accused his predecessor of illegally wiretapping him, that Mr. Trump would suggest that he, himself, may have engaged in such conduct is staggering. The President should immediately provide any such recordings to Congress or admit, once again, to have made a deliberately misleading – and in this case threatening – statement.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Finally, and with respect to the President’s suggestion that as a very busy person, he doesn’t have time to ensure that his spokespeople are accurately portraying his actions – it is difficult to know how to respond – except to say, being truthful with the American people is a core responsibility of the job. If he did not want to willingly undertake even the minimal requirements of the Presidency, it would have been far better for him to have considered that before he chose to run for the highest office in the land.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s refusal to comment on whether or not Trump is taping conversations in the White House was virtually a confirmation that secret White House recordings exist. Congressional investigators could end up taking Trump to court if they find out that secret tapes do exist.
There was zero conversation about secret White House tapes until Trump brought up the possibility of secret recordings on Twitter. Trump’s comments did not go unnoticed, and now one of the top congressional investigators looking into the Russia scandal wants to know more.
Things just went from really bad to a whole lot worse for Donald Trump.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
