Conaway, Schiff threaten to subpoena White House over Comey tapes

The two lawmakers had requested the White House turn over the tapes by last Friday, prompting a Tweet from President Donald Trump in which he said he had no idea “whether there are ‘tapes.’" | Getty

By Austin Wright

06/29/2017 03:38 PM EDT

Updated 06/29/2017 04:02 PM EDT

2017-06-29T04:02-0400

The leaders of the House investigation into Russia’s election meddling are threatening to subpoena the White House for records of President Donald Trump’s conversations with former FBI Director James Comey, saying a Tweet from the president isn’t enough to clear things up.

Reps. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said in a joint statement the White House needs to clarify whether it has “recordings, memoranda, or other documents” — adding that they will consider using a “compulsory process” to ensure a satisfactory response.

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The two lawmakers had requested the White House turn over the tapes by last Friday, prompting a Tweet from Trump in which he said he had 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.” The White House later sent Conaway and Schiff a letter referring them to Trump’s Tweet.

But the two lawmakers now say that’s not enough.

They want to know whether the White House has — or had — any records, including tapes or written documents, memorializing Trump’s conversations with Comey.

The pair said in their joint statement they have sent the White House a letter asking that it “fully comply” with their 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,” they said.

The threat of a bipartisan subpoena from Congress will put significant pressure on the White House to provide a more substantive answer about what was behind a Tweet from the president last month in which he hinted at the existence of tapes.

"James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!" Trump wrote.

The tweet set off a scramble in Congress, with several committees in both the House and Senate requesting the tapes.

Trump’s conversations with Comey, whom he fired last month, have since become the subject of significant controversy.

Comey, who kept detailed notes about his conversations with the president, has said that in one meeting Trump suggested that Comey should end the FBI’s investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

The Justice Department’s special counsel investigation into Russia’s election meddling is now looking into whether Trump’s actions amounted to obstruction of justice.

Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.