Trump indicates tweet meant to affect Comey testimony
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump appeared to acknowledge Friday in an interview that his tweet hinting of taped conversations with James Comey was intended to influence the fired FBI director’s testimony before Congress, and he emphasized that he committed “no obstruction” of the inquiries into whether his campaign colluded with Russia.
The interview, with “Fox & Friends,” was shown one day after the president tweeted what most people in Washington had already come to believe: that he had not made recordings of his conversations with Comey.
Instead, the president explained in the television interview, his tweets were referring to the possibility that anyone could have taped those discussions.
“I’ve been reading about it for the last couple of months about the seriousness of the horribleness of the situation with surveillance all over the place,” the president said in the interview. “So you never know what’s out there, but I didn’t tape, and I don’t have any tape and I didn’t tape.”
When the Fox interviewer suggested that the possible existence of recordings might ensure Comey “stayed honest in those hearings,” Trump paused before responding, “Well, it wasn’t very stupid, I can tell you that.”
Trump responded that “when he found out that I, you know, that there may be tapes out there whether it’s governmental tapes or anything else and who knows, I think his story may have changed.”
Trump appeared to be referring to his statements over the months, which Comey confirmed in his testimony, that the then-FBI director had told the president that he was not under investigation.
Trump, according to his advisers, had become enormously frustrated that Comey would not say so publicly.
The president also raised questions about the impartiality of Robert Mueller, the former FBI director who was named special counsel for the Russia investigation after Comey was fired.
“He’s very, very good friends with Comey, which is very bothersome,” Trump said.
The emphasis on their ties, besides being aimed at undermining Mueller’s credibility and the legitimacy of his investigation, could also be an attempt by Trump to make the case for an eventual Mueller dismissal on conflict of interest grounds.
The truth is more complicated and not squarely on the president’s side.
Mueller and Comey, both known for their integrity and self-assuredness, served closely alongside each other in the Bush administration Justice Department.
They played pivotal roles in a 2004 White House confrontation and have spoken warmly of each other over the years, with Comey describing Mueller as “one of the finest people I’ve ever met.”
But they’re not known to be especially close friends, and legal experts say whatever connection they do have doesn’t come close to meriting Mueller’s removal.
“Jim has never been to Bob’s house. Bob has never been to Jim’s house,” said David Kelley, who succeeded Comey as U.S. attorney in Manhattan and has known him and Mueller for years.
All of that information would have been available to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who himself has known both men for years, when he appointed Mueller last month to run the investigation into potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.
The inquiry is expected to explore whether Trump’s firing of Comey on May 9 was an attempt to obstruct the Russia probe.
Trump said “there’s been no collusion, no obstruction, and virtually everybody agrees to that,” and he added that some of Mueller’s legal team had supported Hillary Clinton.