Trump's Comey Tapes Don't Exist Because President Never Made Any, He Tweets

President Donald Trump took to Twitter once again to admit that he hadn’t recorded his conversations with former FBI director James Comey after all. The declaration comes after weeks of speculation his earlier tweet on May 12—suggesting that he might have tapes of their conversation— had created.

Clearing the air on the issue Thursday, he said in a pair of tweets: “With all of the recently reported electronic surveillance, intercepts, unmasking and illegal leaking of information, I have no idea......whether there are "tapes" or recordings of my conversations with James Comey, but I did not make, and do not have, any such recordings.”

According to New York Times, the decision to confirm that no tapes were taken at Camp David last weekend, where Trump and his family had made a family getaway. The White House counsel had reviewed the words in the tweet. Trump’s personal legal team was also made aware of the decision.

The report also said Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said told journalists that Trump had kept his promise of revealing whether he indeed had the tapes by the end of the week and that the president’s statement on Twitter was very clear. She added in the briefing where television cameras were banned once again, that she didn’t think Trump’s earlier tweet was intended to intimidate Comey.

Read: Why James Comey's Memos On Donald Trump Will Not Be Made Public By FBI

Trump had fired from Comey who at that time was the FBI director and was leading a criminal investigation into whether the latter’s advisers colluded with the Russian government to rig the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. The tweet on May 12 was thought to be an attempt at threatening Comey so he would not talk to the press.

However, the tweet had the complete opposite effect, setting in motion a special counsel investigation into the Russian interference that continues to plague Trump. Comey admitted in his written testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee that he felt compelled to release memos of his interactions with Trump after he had read the president’s tweet.

He also stated that the memos were written by him to ensure accuracy. “My judgment was that I needed to get that out into the public square," he said, according to CNN. He added that he took the step he thought it might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.

A report by Reuters stated that Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, said Trump still needed to answer questions about possible tapes. He asked in a statement: "If the President had no tapes, why did he suggest otherwise? Did he seek to mislead the public? Was he trying to intimidate or silence James Comey? And if so, did he take other steps to discourage potential witnesses from speaking out?”

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Doubts over the existence of the tapes were raised ever since Trump’s first hinted about them, as it was thought to be unlikely that a president would record his conversations with his aides, especially after the former president Richard Nixon’s infamous exit during the Watergate scandal. However, many journalists and executives who had dealings with Trump previously told Washington Post that they thought their conversations were being recorded. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer refused to say whether the White House still has an active taping system.

Trump’s tweets put the White House on a sticky ground both in a legal and political manner. However, staffers continued to say that despite the disastrous consequences of the entire episode, the president had no regrets.