House Intel Committee threatens to subpoena WH over Comey tapes

The House Intelligence Committee on Thursday threatened to subpoena the White House for any documentation of President Trump’s conversations with former FBI Director James Comey.

According to a statement from the top Republican and Democrat leading the panel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, Trump’s tweet that he “did not make, and [does] not have, any such recordings” did not satisfy committee demands for information.

In a letter sent to the White House Thursday, Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) and ranking member Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said they “[made] clear that should the White House not respond fully, the committee will consider using compulsory process to ensure a satisfactory response.”

{mosads}In May, amidst a flurry of media stories detailing private conversations between the former FBI director and the president, Trump tweeted that “James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!”

During the weeks of speculation that followed, the House committee requested “any recordings, memoranda, or other documents memorializing” the president’s interactions with Comey.

The president tweeted last week that he had made no “tapes” — but Conaway and Schiff have indicated for days that the answer did not put the matter to rest.

The White House, in its formal response to the committee, referred the lawmakers to the president’s tweet. Conaway and Schiff on Thursday characterized the White House position as only partially responsive to the request.

“By only referring to the President’s statement, the White House’s letter stops short of clarifying for the Committee whether the White House has any responsive recordings, memoranda, or other documents,” Conaway and Schiff said Thursday.

Trump, in his tweet claiming that he made no tapes, said that he had “no idea whether there are ‘tapes’ or recordings” of his conversations with Comey.