SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
As Trump Forces Speculation, Secret Service Says 'No Record' of White House Tapes
Trump warned former FBI Director James Comey in May that he had "better hope" there are no tapes of their conversations
Jun 12, 2017
In response to a Wall Street Journal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request pertaining to possible tapes of conversations between President Donald Trump and fired FBI Director James Comey, the Secret Service wrote on Monday that, to the agency's knowledge, no such tapes exist.
"In response to your request, the Secret Service has conducted a reasonable search for responsive records," the agency concluded. "It appears, from a review of Secret Service's main indices, that there are no records pertaining to your request that are referenced in these indices."
The Journal noted that, of course, "recordings could have been created by another entity" and that "most parts of the White House itself are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. Those facts provide plenty of loopholes for the president to secretly record his conversations.
"White House aides have declined to answer questions about whether there are tapes, with press secretary Sean Spicer saying he was 'not aware' and his deputy, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, saying she didn't know and then quipping she would 'look under the couches' to check," the Journal reported.
For his part, Trump has repeatedly fueled speculation of White House recordings, first alluding to their possible existence in a tweet shortly following his decision to fire Comey.
"James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!" Trump wrote.
During his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week, Comey implored the president to "release all the tapes" he may have.
"Lordy, I hope there are tapes," Comey said.
Trump suggested on Friday, following Comey's hearing, that the press will find out in a "very short period of time" whether any tapes exist. In the meantime, his aides have struggled mightily with questions on the topic.
Watch Sean Spicer at Monday's press briefing:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
In response to a Wall Street Journal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request pertaining to possible tapes of conversations between President Donald Trump and fired FBI Director James Comey, the Secret Service wrote on Monday that, to the agency's knowledge, no such tapes exist.
"In response to your request, the Secret Service has conducted a reasonable search for responsive records," the agency concluded. "It appears, from a review of Secret Service's main indices, that there are no records pertaining to your request that are referenced in these indices."
The Journal noted that, of course, "recordings could have been created by another entity" and that "most parts of the White House itself are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. Those facts provide plenty of loopholes for the president to secretly record his conversations.
"White House aides have declined to answer questions about whether there are tapes, with press secretary Sean Spicer saying he was 'not aware' and his deputy, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, saying she didn't know and then quipping she would 'look under the couches' to check," the Journal reported.
For his part, Trump has repeatedly fueled speculation of White House recordings, first alluding to their possible existence in a tweet shortly following his decision to fire Comey.
"James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!" Trump wrote.
During his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week, Comey implored the president to "release all the tapes" he may have.
"Lordy, I hope there are tapes," Comey said.
Trump suggested on Friday, following Comey's hearing, that the press will find out in a "very short period of time" whether any tapes exist. In the meantime, his aides have struggled mightily with questions on the topic.
Watch Sean Spicer at Monday's press briefing:
In response to a Wall Street Journal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request pertaining to possible tapes of conversations between President Donald Trump and fired FBI Director James Comey, the Secret Service wrote on Monday that, to the agency's knowledge, no such tapes exist.
"In response to your request, the Secret Service has conducted a reasonable search for responsive records," the agency concluded. "It appears, from a review of Secret Service's main indices, that there are no records pertaining to your request that are referenced in these indices."
The Journal noted that, of course, "recordings could have been created by another entity" and that "most parts of the White House itself are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. Those facts provide plenty of loopholes for the president to secretly record his conversations.
"White House aides have declined to answer questions about whether there are tapes, with press secretary Sean Spicer saying he was 'not aware' and his deputy, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, saying she didn't know and then quipping she would 'look under the couches' to check," the Journal reported.
For his part, Trump has repeatedly fueled speculation of White House recordings, first alluding to their possible existence in a tweet shortly following his decision to fire Comey.
"James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!" Trump wrote.
During his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week, Comey implored the president to "release all the tapes" he may have.
"Lordy, I hope there are tapes," Comey said.
Trump suggested on Friday, following Comey's hearing, that the press will find out in a "very short period of time" whether any tapes exist. In the meantime, his aides have struggled mightily with questions on the topic.
Watch Sean Spicer at Monday's press briefing:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.