WASHINGTON, June 22 -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday denied having recorded conversations with James Comey, the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Trump fired last month.
"I have no idea whether there are 'tapes' or recordings of my conversations with James Comey, but I did not make, and do not have any such recordings," Trump tweeted.
The tweet was an effort to quell questions whether he recorded his private conversations with Comey in the White House and by phone before firing Comey.
Trump has tweeted on May 12, days after firing Comey, that "James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!" prompting widespread speculation that such recordings existed.
Neither Trump nor the White House gave out recordings since then, and were reluctant to confirm if such recordings did exist.
Trump told the press on June 9 that "I'll tell you about that maybe sometime in the near future," and that the press "are going to be very disappointed when you hear the answer."
White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders refuted speculations from the press that Trump was playing "game" in order to make sure that Comey tell the truth.
"I certainly think that the president would hope that the former director would tell the truth. I think that it was more about raising the question of doubt in general," she told an off-camera news briefing on Thursday.
Trump allegedly asked Comey for his loyalty and for the FBI to stop investigating former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn as part of an ongoing probe into alledged collusion between Trump's presidential campaign and the Russian government, according to Comey's testimony to Congress early this month.