Jonathan Ernst
“Lordy, I hope there are tapes,” former FBI Director James Comey said on Thursday to the Senate Intelligence Committee regarding conversations he had with the president about an ongoing investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) had asked why Comey did not fight back when Trump brought up the investigation. Comey said acknowledged he should have reacted more strongly and that he would have, if he had been “stronger,” but that he was simply too stunned by the conversation itself. “Maybe if I did it again, I would do it better,” Comey said. “I hope I’ll never have another opportunity.” The testimony referenced a tweet Trump sent in May, in which he wrote, “James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!” The note appeared to be an attempt to threaten Comey, after The New York Times published a report detailing a one-on-one dinner Trump shared with the director after the inauguration.