27 June, 2017
We now know that Trump (unless he is a complete imbecile) knew when he made that pronouncement that no such tapes existed, and yet he waited several weeks, dodging many opportunities to clarify, before finally admitting that it was all just a bluff. Trump said he was concerned that Mueller had retained lawyers who had previously contributed to Democrats. Trump has seized on that statement as vindication although the investigation is ongoing, as are congressional inquiries. Trump has disputed Comey's version of a January dinner during which, according to Comey, the president asked for a pledge of loyalty.
"I can say that the people that have been hired are all Hillary Clinton supporters".
President Donald Trump during a Fox News interview appeared to make a case for getting Robert Mueller pulled off the FBI's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 USA election. Trump appeared to acknowledge on Friday in an interview that his tweet hinting of taped conversations with James Comey was meant to influence the fired Federal Bureau of Investigation director's testimony before Congress, and he emphasized that he committed "no obstruction" of the inquiries into whether his campaign colluded with Russian Federation.
In other comments in the full interview on Fox, which aired Friday morning, Trump reiterated how ineffective Democrats and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have been at winning elections.
"Special Counsel Robert Mueller should recuse himself because the integrity of his appointment is in question due to former FBI Director James Comey's manipulative leaks and the relationship between Mr. Comey and Mr. Mueller", Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) claimed.
Since then, Trump and his surrogates have made public statements suggesting that the administration was floating the possibility of a major shake-up in the Russian Federation investigation.
"You'll have to determine for yourself whether or not his story changed", Trump said. This entire question is about how Trump's story changed. He doesn't come back and think about Nixon and Watergate. Advisers who speak to Trump regularly have said he had not mentioned the existence of tapes during their conversations.
Trump's tweets, old and new, left many perplexed about whether there was motive or strategy behind the whole affair.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday she didn't think Trump regretted the initial tweet. Comey said he understood that to be a request to drop the probe.