Secret Service Dampens Hope of Trump White House Tapes

Says it doesn't have any recordings
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 13, 2017 10:17 AM CDT
Secret Service: We Don't Know of Any Trump Tapes
PresidentTrump speaks on the phone in the Oval Office of the White House.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

One big strike against President Trump's insinuation that recordings of White House conversations might exist: The Secret Service isn't aware of any. In responding Monday to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Wall Street Journal, the agency says it has no audio recordings or transcripts of conversations taped within the White House during Trump's presidency. Still, its not a definitive answer: While the Secret Service has handled such recordings for other presidents, including Richard Nixon, it's possible another agency is now doing that.

If recordings do exist, they could be subpoenaed as part of the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, a legal analyst tells CNN. Trump was asked about the issue again last week, and he didn't provide a definitive answer himself. "I’ll tell you about it over a very short period of time," he said. "Oh, you’re going to be very disappointed when you hear the answer, don’t worry.” The tapes could settle once and for all what Trump did or didn't say to James Comey during a private dinner. "Lordy, I hope there are tapes," the former FBI chief said in his Senate testimony. (More Donald Trump stories.)

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