Trump must turn over any tapes, lawmakers agree

Senator Mark Warner, D-Va., called Trump's insinuation that he recorded tapes of his conversations with former FBI Director James Comey "outrageous." Photo by UPI/Mike Theiler

May 14 (UPI) — If Trump did record conversations with former FBI Director Jame Comey, the president will have to turn those tapes over to Congress, both Republican and Democrats said on Sunday.

Last week, President Trump tweeted: “James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!”

A number of pundits have likened the scenario to Nixon and Watergate. Mark Warner, D-Va., top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, called the insinuation “outrageous” during his appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”

When questioned on Friday about the president’s tweet, Press Secretary Sean Spicer said, “The president has nothing further to add on that.”

“If there is the existence of tapes I want to make sure, one, they’re preserved [and] are not mysteriously destroyed in the coming days, and then two, one way or the other, Congress will have to get a look at those tapes,” Warner told “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace.

Several Republicans echoed Warner’s logic.

“If there are any tapes of this conversation, they need to be turned over,” Senator Lindsey O. Graham, R-S.C., said on NBC‘s “Meet the Press.”

Senator Mike Lee, R-Utah, told Wallace any tapes would “inevitably” be subpoenaed by Congress.

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