The Illinois Democrat wants to know, if “a taping system” exists, “who ordered the installation, and what is done with the recordings?”
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) has asked the Trump administration whether “a taping system” exists in the White House. In a letter released on Friday morning, the congressman requested the administration to turn over “all tapes” of President Trump’s meetings with the former FBI Director James Comey, if they exist.
The request from the Illinois Democrat follows a tweet from President Trump on Friday morning, which read: “James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!”
Trump fired Comey on May 9, and since then the president and various members of his administration have given conflicting reasons for the director’s dismissal.
Trump’s tweet on Friday morning was a response to news stories in the New York Times and other publications that contradicted the president’s version of a dinner he had with Comey in early January. In an interview to NBC News, Trump said Comey had requested the dinner “because he wanted to stay on.”
But sources close to the former FBI director disputed that and said Trump invited Comey for dinner and the president wanted a loyalty pledge from the FBI chief.
In his letter to Donald F. McGahn II, Counsel to the President, Krishnamoorthi wrote that in “light of the varied and divergent statements from the White House press briefings room regarding the firing” of Comey and former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, “the production of such tapes would allow the facts of these terminations to come to light.”
In a separate statement, the Indian American lawmaker, who is a member of the the House Oversight Committee, said these “tapes could accelerate current investigations as previous tapes have aided past inquiries.”
Earlier, Krishnamoorthi had denounced the firing of Comey and called for a special prosecutor to investigate the Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russia during the November elections.
Here’s the full text of Rep. Krishnamoorthi’s letter to Counsel to the President Donald F. McGahn II:
May 12, 2017
The Honorable Donald F. McGahn II
Counsel to the President
White House
Washington, DC 20006Dear Mr. McGahn:
On May 23, 2017 at 8:26 A.M., President Trump tweeted: “James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!”
In light of the varied and divergent statements from the White House press briefings room regarding the firing of both former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and former FBI Director James Comey, the production of such tapes would allow the facts of these terminations to come to light.
I respectfully submit the following requests to your office:
- Please confirm the existence of “tapes” and/or a taping system in the White House. If such “tapes” or taping system exists, how long has it been active, who ordered the installation, and what is done with the recordings?
- If in fact there are recordings of White House conversations, please submit the following tapes to the House Oversight Committee:
a. The President’s communications with former FBI Director James Comey,
b. Any conversations regarding the hiring or firing of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn,
c. The meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and Ambassador Kislyak that was closed to the American press, but not their Russian counterparts.
Thank you very much for your consideration of this important matter.
Sincerely,
Raja Krishnamoorthi
Member of Congress