White House demurs on Trump 'tapes' claim

(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter)

published 15 May 2017

On Monday, the White House continued to refuse to deny that President Trump secretly tapes his private conversations, with Press Secretary Sean Spicer dodging a pointed question from NBC's Hallie Jackson. "Given that you refuse to confirm or deny [the recordings], how is any senior official supposed to feel comfortable having a conversation privately with the president?" Jackson asked.

Spicer replied: "The president has made it clear what his position is." Spicer also said that the president's "position" is "he has nothing further to add."

The question of the tapes, which has repeatedly been raised by the press, reached a breaking point with CNN's Jim Acosta, who shouted after Spicer as he left the briefing:

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On Friday, President Trump apparently threatened former FBI Director James Comey, tweeting: "Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!" Jeva Lange

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.