The Slatest

White House Refuses to Say, of Course, Whether Trump Actually Taped Comey

Press secretary Sean Spicer at the White House on Friday.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Donald Trump, who appears to believe that he is a character in a TV show about the president rather than the actual president, threatened former FBI Director James Comey on Friday morning by suggesting on Twitter that there might be incriminating recordings of their Jan. 27 dinner together and/or subsequent phone calls. Of course, since Trump runs the White House, he should know whether he is making recordings of his conversations or not. Friday afternoon, press secretary Sean Spicer was asked to elaborate on the president’s ominous suggestion. He refused:

REPORTER: Moving on to the news of the week, did president Trump record his conversations with former FBI director Comey?

SPICER: I assume you’re referring to the tweet. And I’ve talked to the president—the president has nothing further to add.

REPORTER: Why did he say that? Why did he tweet that? What should we interpret from that?

SPICER: As I mentioned, the president has nothing further to add.

REPORTER: Are there recording devices in the Oval Office or the residence?

SPICER: As I said for the third time, there is nothing further to add on that.

REPORTER: Does he think it is appropriate to threaten someone like Mr. Comey not to speak?

SPICER: I don’t think that’s a threat. He simply stated a fact, the tweet speaks for itself. I’m moving on.

Yeah, whatever, maybe the president is lying about the existence of secret recordings in order to blackmail the former head of the FBI. But maybe he isn’t! Who cares? Next question!