{"id":34992,"date":"2017-06-22T12:54:33","date_gmt":"2017-06-22T19:54:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=34992"},"modified":"2017-06-22T13:03:40","modified_gmt":"2017-06-22T20:03:40","slug":"lyin-trump-now-says-he-has-no-idea-if-there-are-any-recordings-of-him-and-comey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=34992","title":{"rendered":"Lyin&#8217; Trump Now Says He Has &#8216;No Idea&#8217; If There Are Any Recordings of Him and Comey"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Six weeks ago Donald Trump created a controversy that crossed several ethical and legal lines. Of course, that&#8217;s something he does with such frequency it&#8217;s impossible to know which one it is this time. Hint: It involves Twitter (hmm, that doesn&#8217;t narrow it down either). Let&#8217;s end the suspense. On May 12, Trump tweeted this:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">James Comey better hope that there are no &quot;tapes&quot; of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/863007411132649473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 12, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-tweet-dems-smiling.jpg\" alt=\"Donald Trump\" width=\"550\" height=\"296\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-34267\" \/><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NewsCorpse\/posts\/1776949322319855\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Share on Facebook\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/Pix\/Advs\/fb-share-tn.jpg\" width=\"274\" height=\"20\" class=\"aligncenter\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The immediate response to that was concern that Trump was emulating Richard Nixon and secretly recording conversations in the Oval Office. That, of course, would be a flagrant breach of privacy and protocol. It would make people reluctant to speak candidly when visiting the White House. And it would open the door to numerous legal vulnerabilities for both Trump and his guests.<\/p>\n<p>Ever since that tweet, the nation has pressed Trump to reveal whether or not he was making such recordings. His response was always a smug dodge and eventual refusal to supply an honest answer. That resulted in an ongoing suspicion as to whether he could be trusted in otherwise private conversations.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, the tweet was a blatant threat aimed at former FBI Director James Comey. Trump intended to throw him off balance with the suggestion that the covert taping might contradict his congressional testimony. It didn&#8217;t work. Comey&#8217;s cheeky reply was <em>&#8220;Lordy, I hope there are tapes.&#8221;<\/em> If nothing else, the tweet represented an unambiguous attempt at witness intimidation.<\/p>\n<p>However, on Thursday morning Trump ended the mystery. He posted a couple tweets denying that there was any covert taping going that he was aware of:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">With all of the recently reported electronic surveillance, intercepts, unmasking and illegal leaking of information, I have no idea&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/877932907137966080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 22, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#8230;whether there are &quot;tapes&quot; or recordings of my conversations with James Comey, but I did not make, and do not have, any such recordings.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/877932956458795008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 22, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, those tweets don&#8217;t end the controversy. The first question that has to e asked is: If he has <em>&#8220;no idea&#8221;<\/em> whether there are any tapes, then why didn&#8217;t he just say that weeks ago? He seems to think that being president is like being a contestant on a reality TV show. He obviously doesn&#8217;t believe he has any obligation to be truthful with the public he purportedly serves.<\/p>\n<p>Secondly, with the confession that he didn&#8217;t make any recordings, he is affirming that his original comment was in fact witness intimidation. The only purpose of suggesting the existence of such tapes would be to influence Comey&#8217;s testimony. It is the behavior of a bully who thinks he can get his way with offhand threats.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, it would be naive to accept Trump&#8217;s latest version of events as the gospel truth. His past is littered with so many shameless lies (see the <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=30264\" target=\"_blank\">Trump Bullshitopedia<\/a><\/strong>) that anyone assuming he&#8217;s telling the truth now is too mentally unstable to live outside an institution. It is entirely plausible that he does have tapes, but that they affirm Comey&#8217;s testimony and incriminate Trump. Under such circumstances it would behoove him to deny the tapes exist and try to destroy them.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><strong>How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00QSSMOES\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=9325&#038;creativeASIN=B00QSSMOES&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;tag=newscorpsecom-20&#038;linkId=TLI6JC2OYE22MUTS\" target=\"_blank\">Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.<\/a><br \/>\nAvailable now at Amazon.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In any case, Trump&#8217;s sudden and dubious confession doesn&#8217;t really clear the air. There is still confusion that is entirely the result of his own irresponsible deception and self-serving manipulation. It may still come to pass that recordings are discovered and made public. His own tweet implies that others might have made recordings without his knowledge. That in itself would be evidence of gross negligence for a president. But there is one thing in that regard that is in his favor. Everyone would readily believe that he could be both gross and negligent. Congratulations, Donnie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Six weeks ago Donald Trump created a controversy that crossed several ethical and legal lines. Of course, that&#8217;s something he does with such frequency it&#8217;s impossible to know which one it is this time. Hint: It involves Twitter (hmm, that doesn&#8217;t narrow it down either). Let&#8217;s end the suspense. On May 12, Trump tweeted this: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,1200,13],"tags":[554,1179,1163],"class_list":["post-34992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-politics","category-scandalous","tag-donald-trump","tag-james-comey","tag-twitter"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-tweet-dems-smiling.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-96o","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":34860,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=34860","url_meta":{"origin":34992,"position":0},"title":"Trump&#8217;s Claim that Comey&#8217;s Testimony is a &#8216;Complete Vindication&#8217; is Delusional &#8211; Here&#8217;s Why","author":"Mark NC","date":"6\/9\/2017","format":false,"excerpt":"After much anticipation, former FBI Director James Comey appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. His testimony was in parts both revealing and tedious. And the posture of the senators questioning him was predictably biased. However, there was one observer who managed to totally miss the significance of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"Donald Trump","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-head-pointing.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-head-pointing.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-head-pointing.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":67733,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=67733","url_meta":{"origin":34992,"position":1},"title":"WOW! 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Click here to post this article on Twitter or Click here to post\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"James Comey, Donald Trump","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/comey-trump.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/comey-trump.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/comey-trump.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39949,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=39949","url_meta":{"origin":34992,"position":2},"title":"Trump Says Comey Set Record for Lies at 245, So He&#8217;s Only 6,000 Short of Trump&#8217;s Record","author":"Mark NC","date":"12\/9\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The latest display of Donald Trump's frantic fear and desperation appeared Sunday morning on Twitter (as usual). He is getting more unhinged with every passing day. Especially when those days include filings from special counsel Robert Mueller and the New York Attorney's office sentencing Trump's former close associates. The walls\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"Donald Trump","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-toilet-golden-tweeting.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-toilet-golden-tweeting.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-toilet-golden-tweeting.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37572,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=37572","url_meta":{"origin":34992,"position":3},"title":"Untruthful Slime Ball: New Poll Shows Americans Say Trump is Less Believable Than Comey","author":"Mark NC","date":"4\/13\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The new book by former FBI Director James Comey is about to be released and details are being discussed in the press. 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Not only did he transparently interfere with an active investigation of his collusion with Russia, but he admitted as much in an interview with NBC's Lester Holt. At one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Free Press&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Free Press","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=14"},"img":{"alt_text":"Comey Trump","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/comey-trump.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/comey-trump.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/comey-trump.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34992"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34996,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34992\/revisions\/34996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}