Trump says he sent Comey a message via Twitter
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump appeared to acknowledge Friday 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.
Trump’s 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 tweet was 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. “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 make sure Comey “stayed honest in those hearings,” Trump paused before responding, “Well, it wasn’t very stupid, I can tell you that.”
Referring to Comey, the president said 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.
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.
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.
Trump’s efforts to highlight, and exaggerate, the Comey-Mueller relationship seem designed to suggest a possible conflict of interest, which is one of the few grounds for dismissal of a special counsel.
Mueller and Comey served closely alongside each other in the Bush administration Justice Department. They have spoken warmly of each other over the years, 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. “They’ve had lunch together once and dinner together twice, once with their spouses and again after Jim became the FBI director so that Bob could give him the rundown of what to look for.”
“Although Comey may well be what I call roadkill in the subjects Mueller is investigating, he’s not the victim,” said Stephen Gillers, a legal ethics scholar at the New York University law school. “His firing has been a consequence of the crime that Mueller is investigating. Their friendship would not require recusing,” he said.