US President Donald Trump says he does not have recordings of his conversations with former FBI Director James Comey, amid speculation that he taped their conversations.
“I did not make, and do not have, any such recordings,” Trump tweeted on Thursday.
However, the Republican president raised the possibility that a third party could have recorded his conversations with Comey.
“With all of the recently reported electronic surveillance, intercepts, unmasking and illegal leaking of information, I have no idea whether there are ‘tapes’ or recordings of my conversations with James Comey,” he said in another tweet.
Earlier, Trump had suggested that Comey may possess recordings of his White House conversations after he got fired as FBI director.
“James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!” Trump wrote then.
Comey, who had been leading an investigation into alleged ties between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia, was fired in May. The president said he fired Comey because it was time for a "new beginning" at America’s "crown jewel of law enforcement."
During his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this month, Comey said he hoped the tapes existed because they would vindicate his account of his interactions with Trump and the events that led to his firing.
“Lordy, I hope there are tapes,” Comey said.
Comey’s firing has sparked controversy among both Democrats and Republicans after it was claimed that the president had asked Comey to end an investigation into alleged ties between Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser, with a Russian diplomat. Flynn was fired in February over undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador to the US.
Trump, who has repeatedly denied any collusion between his campaign and Russia, described the investigation as the “greatest witch hunt” in US history.