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WaPo: Republicans & Democrats agree: If Trump has tapes, he’ll need to turn them over

K

KSweeley

Member
Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/powe...dbb23c75d82_story.html?utm_term=.938b066bc461

In the six days since President Trump abruptly fired FBI director James B. Comey, concern from both parties has mounted about the selection of a replacement and the president's suggestion that he may have secretly taped conversations with the ousted director.

Key Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Sunday called for Trump to turn over any recorded conversations, based on a tantalizing tweet the president sent last week that said, ”James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!"

”If there are any tapes of this conversation, they need to be turned over," Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) told NBC's ”Meet the Press," underscoring a strong bipartisan reaction to the suggestion of White House tapes.

Democrats continued Sunday to call for appointment of a special prosecutor to handle the FBI investigation into whether Trump's campaign knew of Russian interference in the 2016 election. And after a parade of eight candidates appeared at the Justice Department for interviews, members of Congress began voicing their preferences for Comey ‘s replacement.

The bipartisan calls for more White House disclosures came as an NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday found that just 29 percent of Americans said they approve of Comey's firing; 38 percent said they disapprove. About 32 percent of respondents said they didn't have enough information to answer. But among those who have been paying ”a lot" of attention to the firing, 53 percent said they disapprove; 33 percent approved.
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Here's a recent article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-top-stories_pwp-collins-425pm:homepage/story

June 11, 2017

On Sunday, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said President Trump should turn over tapes of conversations he had with former FBI director James B. Comey.

”He should voluntarily turn them over not only to the Senate Intelligence Committee, but to the special counsel," Collins told Brianna Keilar on CNN's ”State of the Union."

”I don't understand why the president just doesn't clear this matter up once and for all," she added.

Almost a month after suggesting that he recorded conversations with Comey in the White House, writing in an early-morning Twitter message that ”Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes' of our conversations," the president has yet to definitely answer the question of whether any such tapes even exist.

”I'll tell you about that maybe sometime in the very near future," Trump told reporters Friday when asked about the existence of any tapes.

Collins, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, joins Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee who, with their Democratic colleagues, sent a letter to the White House on Friday demanding the president turn over any recordings with Comey within two weeks.

In her interview Sunday, Collins added that she would support a subpoena being issued if the White House stonewalls, though she said such an order would probably come from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and not from the Senate committee.

”I would be fine with issuing a subpoena," Collins said.
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S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
He doesn't have tapes.

And if he did he'd lie about it and we'd never see them.


Everyone seems amazed that Trump offered to testify under oath. Trump has no compunction about lying under oath or any other circumstance. He's literally a pathological liar who lies about literally everything.
 
K

KSweeley

Member
There's even reports that Trump should choose for FBI Director, Merrick Garland:

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a former federal prosecutor, said that “it’s probably inevitable” such recordings would need to be handed over to Congress and predicted that they would be subpoenaed. Asked on “Fox News Sunday” about Trump’s decision to set up a taping system, Lee called it “not necessarily the best idea.”

Lee said Trump should nominate Judge Merrick Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, to lead the FBI. Garland was former president Barack Obama’s nominee to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, but Republicans blocked the nomination last year to allow Obama’s successor to make the choice.

Also appearing on Fox News, Josh Holmes, a top outside political adviser to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — who orchestrated the year-long blockade of Garland — said that the Senate leader also would support Garland’s nomination to the FBI post.

Vice President Pence and other senior Republicans have said they would back Garland. Privately, Democrats have expressed doubt that Garland would even consent to an interview for the job.
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S

Saucycarpdog

Member
Pretty sure republicans just want the tapes so that they can either destroy them or so they can have time to devise a spin narrative before they become public.
 
K

KSweeley

Member
Here's a recent article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-top-stories_pwp-collins-425pm:homepage/story

June 11, 2017

On Sunday, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said President Trump should turn over tapes of conversations he had with former FBI director James B. Comey.

“He should voluntarily turn them over not only to the Senate Intelligence Committee, but to the special counsel,” Collins told Brianna Keilar on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“I don’t understand why the president just doesn’t clear this matter up once and for all,” she added.

Almost a month after suggesting that he recorded conversations with Comey in the White House, writing in an early-morning Twitter message that “Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations,” the president has yet to definitely answer the question of whether any such tapes even exist.

“I’ll tell you about that maybe sometime in the very near future,” Trump told reporters Friday when asked about the existence of any tapes.

Collins, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, joins Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee who, with their Democratic colleagues, sent a letter to the White House on Friday demanding the president turn over any recordings with Comey within two weeks.

In her interview Sunday, Collins added that she would support a subpoena being issued if the White House stonewalls, though she said such an order would probably come from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and not from the Senate committee.

“I would be fine with issuing a subpoena,” Collins said.
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S

skullmuffins

Banned
SolarPowered said:
Republicans trying to compromise? This is like the political equivalent of a Tornado Siren going off.
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Of course they wouldn't propose a genuine compromise. That was a transparent ploy to trick Dems so they could replace Garland's lifetime appointment to the DC court of appeals with a conservative judge.
 
B

btrboyev

Member
Stinkles said:
He doesn't have tapes.

And if he did he'd lie about it and we'd never see them.


Everyone seems amazed that Trump offered to testify under oath. Trump has no compunction about lying under oath or any other circumstance. He's literally a pathological liar who lies about literally everything.
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If he didn't have tapes, then why would he or the White House just officially say there are no tapes? It's a really easy thing to answer.

The avoidance is suspect
 
A

Avalanche

Member
btrboyev said:
If he didn't have tapes, then why would he or the White House just officially say there are no tapes? It's a really easy thing to answer.

The avoidance is suspect
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Because then he'd have to admit he was wrong/lying, which as far as I'm aware has never happened, ever.

There are no tapes though. He's threatened journalists with tapes in the past a few times, nothing to show for it.
 
S

shintoki

sparkle this bitch
The Tapes would be

I.....Donald Trump.....Hope....You....Do....A Good Job.....Very Good Job, Best Job Looking Into Clinton.
 
V

VendettaRed07

Member
Chie Satonaka said:
Why are we even entertaining the idea that he has tapes?

It was clearly a bluff to try to keep him from talking.
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Because the WH isn't saying they don't exist. They basically give variations of "no comment", whenever asked.

Which makes you think they don't want to lie and say they don't if they are uncovered.
 
F

FrontalMonk

Banned
Stinkles said:
He doesn't have tapes.

And if he did he'd lie about it and we'd never see them.


Everyone seems amazed that Trump offered to testify under oath. Trump has no compunction about lying under oath or any other circumstance. He's literally a pathological liar who lies about literally everything.
Click to expand...

I think the reason why people were amazed he would offer that is because he's been so easy to catch in a lie that it would be tantamount to requesting a perjury conviction.
 
S

SJurgenson

Banned
Chie Satonaka said:
Why are we even entertaining the idea that he has tapes?

It was clearly a bluff to try to keep him from talking.
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Yeah, but... Think about it. What is the dumbest thing Trump could do here? It's to have tapes, and then to tweet about them.

That's why I believe there is a good chance he has tapes.
 
T

tsumineko

Member
This is great. If he doesn't have tapes, that proves he was threatening Comey and he is a liar. If he does have tapes, it will prove (again) he actually said what he said and he is a liar.
 
T

tsumineko

Member
Right now, everyone shouldn't even be questioning that there are tapes at all, everyone should be taking him at his word. That will cause the most damage to him. When he can't produce them, you can assume he destroyed them.
 
D

Darknight

Member
So wait, say he doesn't have the tapes...he is so egotistical that he wont admit he doesn't actual have tapes? So when these committees ask for the tapes, wont it come out that they don't exist at a point of looking?
 
E

Ether_Snake

安安安安安安安安安安安安安安安
Such a conundrum for Trump's ego. He threatened Comey on Twitter over having tapes, but now he will either have to admit he was bluffing, which makes him look weak for having tried to threaten him and makes any future threat look like a bluff, or he has actual tapes and must destroy, alter, or produce them, after being forced to do so, making him look weak again.

He's probably looking for a great James Comey immitator right now.
 
Z

Zolo

Member
Darknight said:
So wait, say he doesn't have the tapes...he is so egotistical that he wont admit he doesn't actual have tapes? So when these committees ask for the tapes, wont it come out that they don't exist at a point of looking?
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I think Trump's counting on nothing coming up ever forcing him to release the tapes. And in a worst case scenario, just saying people misinterpreted his tweet.

Which wouldn't explain why he didn't say so in the first place.

The most transparent garbage in the world. Also didn't Congress tell Trump to also provide any evidence that Obama wiretapped him a lot time ago?
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They're trying to portray the unmasking as that.
 
R

RustyNails

Member
besada said:
Or maybe he does, and there's 18 and a half minutes missing from the conversation with Comey, because clearly none of these chuckleheads have ever heard of Watergate.
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I really dont think he has the tapes. Trump in a fit of orange fury just tweeted out nonsensical threat to Comey as if he was still in tabloid business in the 90s.
 
S

SolarPowered

Member
skullmuffins said:
Of course they wouldn't propose a genuine compromise. That was a transparent ploy to trick Dems so they could replace Garland's lifetime appointment to the DC court of appeals with a conservative judge.
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Figures

There is always a catch with these people. The Republican party would probably get Trump to remove Garland before he is impeached or leaves office anyway.
 
L

Lonewulfeus

Member
Chie Satonaka said:
Why are we even entertaining the idea that he has tapes?

It was clearly a bluff to try to keep him from talking.
Click to expand...

Here's the beauty though, if there are tapes they will likely corroborate Comeys testimony. If the tapes don't exist it's tantamount to attempting to intimidate a witness. We are literally in a no lose situation.
 
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