Comey on Oval Office conversation with Trump: ‘Lordy, I hope there are tapes’
Jun 8, 2017, 8:43 AM | Updated: 11:33 am
Former FBI Director James Comey said, “Lordy, I hope there are tapes,” when testifying about a conversation with President Donald Trump during a Thursday hearing.
In the days after Comey was fired, Trump tweeted his former FBI director should consider if their conversations had been recorded before he talked to media.
James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017
During his Thursday testimony, Comey said he had seen the tweet.
“I’ve seen the tweet about tapes. Lordy, I hope there are tapes,” he said.
Comey made the comment when responding to a line of questions asked by Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), who inquired about a Feb. 14 meeting in the Oval Office.
According to written testimony, Trump wanted to talk privately about the investigation into then-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and his ties with Russia.
Comey on Oval meeting: "My sense was the Attorney General knew he shouldn't be leaving", says Kushner knew it, too. https://t.co/8R0zxgy5Zs
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 8, 2017
“I know the Oval Office and I know what happens to people when they walk in,” Feinstein said. “There is a certain amount of intimidation, but why didn’t you stop and say, ‘Mr. President, this is wrong. I cannot discuss this with you?'”
Comey responded that he was taken aback by the conversation and what he perceived as a request to halt his agency’s investigation into Flynn, someone Trump had called “a good guy.”
“I remember saying, ‘I agree he’s a good guy,’ as a way of saying I’m not agreeing with what you asked me to do,” he said.
“Maybe other people would be stronger in that circumstance but that’s how I conducted myself,” he continued. “I hope I’ll never have another opportunity. Maybe if I did, I would do it better.”
