Secret Service says no White House tapes, meaning Donald Trump is in a whole lot more trouble

| 4:52 pm EDT June 12, 2017
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Donald Trump thought he was being clever when he tried to taunt former FBI Director James Comey ahead of his congressional testimony by suggesting there might be “tapes” of their White House conversations. But now that Comey has testified in a manner that’s largely seen as both credible and damning, Trump is under pressure to produce those tapes. And now the Secret Service is weighing in, saying it has no such tapes.

The Secret Service recorded conversations in Richard Nixon’s White House, at Nixon’s request, and would ostensibly have been the one to do so for Donald Trump as well. But in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the Secret Service says it has no such recordings of Trump’s White House (link). That means, unless Trump was secretly recording himself and Comey with his own personal devices, which seems unlikely given his rather elementary grasp of technology, it means there never were any recordings.

Yet now, because Trump bragged that there might be recordings, he’ll be legally required to turn them over as evidence. And because they almost certainly don’t exist, he’ll find himself under legal pressure to prove that there are no such recordings. That means anyone in a position to have recorded White House conversations, or to have known about the existence of such tapes, may get subpoenaed to explain under oath whether or not any recordings exist. But it’s even worse for Trump.

By threatening James Comey with imaginary tapes of their conversations that he knew didn’t exist, Donald Trump is now on the hook for witness intimidation. It also constitutes yet another instance of obstruction of justice. Trump may not understand the manner in which he keeps incriminating himself on additional charges. But Special Counsel Robert Mueller is certainly keeping track. It was obstruction of justice that ultimately took down Nixon. If you’re a regular reader, feel free to support Palmer Report. Follow Palmer Report on Facebook and Twitter.