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U.S. NEWS Friday 23 June 2017
No tapes longtime Trump confidant,

continued from pFront said before the Thursday
tweets. “He’s not a pro-
fessional politician. He
Comey has suggested that doesn’t come back and
the tweet prompted him think about Nixon and Wa-
to ask an associate to leak tergate. His instinct is: ‘I’ll
damaging information to out-bluff you.’”
the media. The resulting Trump’s earlier suggestion
news reports built pressure about tapes evoked the
on a top Justice Depart- secret White House record-
ment official to appoint ings that led to Richard
an independent prosecu- Nixon’s downfall in the Wa-
tor to oversee the Russia tergate scandal. Under a
investigation. That special post-Watergate law, the
counsel is now reportedly Presidential Records Act,
investigating Trump’s own recordings made by presi-
actions in a probe that dents belong to the peo-
could dog his presidency ple and can eventually be
for the foreseeable future. made public. Destroying
Trump’s declaration now them would be a crime.
that there are no record- But the episode tired
ings appear to settle a Trump’s defenders and Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., whose panel is
investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, speaks with reporters after final votes for
key dynamic in that inves- aides, who for weeks have the week, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 22, 2017.
tigation: It’s now the presi- been dodging questions Associated Press
dent’s word against Com- about the recordings. Ad- doning them. He offered And his embrace of birther- was eligible to become
ey’s notes. visers who speak to Trump to help rebuild the World ism, which questioned president, fueled his own
Without recordings, Com- regularly have said he Trade Center in 2004 but whether Obama was born political rise. He never pro-
ey’s version of his con- had not mentioned the never followed through. in the United States and duced any evidence.q
versations with Trump — existence of tapes during
which he documented their conversations. More
at the time, shared with than a half-dozen aides
close associates and tes- said they were unaware
tified about to Congress of any recording devices.
— will likely play a key role All demanded anonymity
as prosecutors consider to speak about private dis-
whether Trump inappro- cussions with the president.
priately pressured the law- White House spokeswom-
man to drop the investiga- an Sarah Huckabee Sand-
tion into former National ers said Thursday she didn’t
Security Adviser Michael think Trump regretted the
Flynn. Investigators will also initial tweet. As for his pos-
weigh the credibility of sible motivation, she would
Comey against a president only say it was perhaps
who has shown a wobbly about “raising the ques-
commitment to accuracy. tion of doubt in general.”
Thursday’s revelation She also could not explain
came a day ahead of a Trump’s new reference to
deadline to turn over any possible surveillance.
tapes to the House intel- Mark Warner of Virginia,
ligence committee. The top Democrat on the
timing drew attention Senate intelligence com-
away from the release of mittee, said, “This admin-
the Senate’s health care istration never ceases to
bill, which the White House amaze me.” He said the
hopes can provide Trump tweeting is an example of
a much-needed legislative Trump’s “willingness to just
victory to boost his sagging kind of make things up.”
poll numbers. “It’s remarkable the presi-
Trump’s tweets, old and dent was so flippant to
new, left many perplexed make his original tweet
about whether there was and then frankly stonewall
motive or strategy behind the media and the country
the whole affair. The presi- for weeks,” Warner said. “I
dent appeared to enjoy don’t know how this serves
ginning up mystery and the country’s interests.”
spinning Washington re- This is not the first time that
porters about the possibil- Trump, the former star of
ity there was a trove of sur- reality TV and tabloids, has
reptitiously recorded Oval manufactured a melodra-
Office conversations. ma that begins with blus-
“I think he was in his way ter but often ends with a
instinctively trying to rattle whimper. Trump flirted with
Comey,” former House presidential runs in 1988
Speaker Newt Gingrich, a and 2000 before aban-