Senators voice concerns about Trump's threat of taped conversations

WASHINGTON — United States President Donald Trump's abrupt dismissal last week of the FBI director, James B Comey, and his subsequent allusion to taped conversations with Mr Comey continued to roil Washington on Sunday (May 14).

In televised appearances, lawmakers in both parties said that the recordings could or should come to light if they exist, while a former director of national intelligence, James R. Clapper Jr., suggested that Trump was contributing to an erosion of democratic institutions.

Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press," Sen Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the prospect that a conversation with MrComey was recorded must be taken seriously.

"You can't be cute about tapes," he said. "If there are any tapes of this conversation, they need to be turned over. I doubt if there are. But we need to clear the air."

On Fox News, Sen Mike Lee, R-Utah, said if there are recordings, it was "probably inevitable" that they would be turned over to Congress, which is investigating possible connections between Trump's campaign and Russia.

Both senators, along with others, were responding to the president's warning to MrComey, in a Twitter post on Friday, that he had "better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!"

The Senate minority leader, Sen Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that MrTrump should turn over such tapes "immediately," if they exist, while Sen Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the committee investigating the Russia ties, said that such recordings must be preserved.

Mr Schumer also used the controversy to repeat his call for a special prosecutor to lead the Russia investigation, and left open the possibility that Democrats might withdraw support for a new FBI director if the Justice Department did not appoint an independent prosecutor.

"A special prosecutor can look into these tapes, can look into if they exist, can examine everything in an independent way," he said on CNN's "State of the Union."

Meanwhile, Mr Clapper said on Sunday that he found the firing "very disturbing" and that the country's systems of checks and balances was "under assault" by the White House.

Mr Clapper, interviewed by Jake Tapper on "State of the Union," said that America's democratic institutions were being attacked externally, a reference to Russia's interference in the election last year, and internally.

"Internally from the president?" Mr Tapper asked.

"Exactly," Mr Clapper said.

Mr Clapper also rejected Trump's repeated citing of Clapper's Senate testimony in dismissing the FBI investigation into the possible Russia ties.

Repeating statements he made last week, Clapper said that he had not known about the investigation until Comey disclosed it publicly and his previous testimony "should not be considered exculpatory."

Mr Clapper said sensitive investigations were kept as compartmentalized as possible. In a separate appearance on ABC's "This Week," he said he had left counterintelligence investigations to the FBI.

The concerns about the firing have extended beyond Washington. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released on Sunday showed that 29 percent of Americans approved of the decision, and 38 percent disapproved.

Ms Nikki R Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, also appearing on "This Week", defended Mr Trump's firing of Comey.

"The president is the CEO of his country," Ms Haley said. "He can hire and fire whoever he wants, that's his right. Whether you agree with it or not, it's the truth."

Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, appearing on "Meet the Press," said the firing did not make him concerned about his own independence. He said he had a "great relationship with the president."

"I will never compromise my own values," Tillerson added. "And so that's my only line. And my values are those of the country."

He also responded to an op-ed article in The New York Times last week by Sen John McCain, R-Ariz., in which Mr McCain argued that Mr Tillerson's remarks about decoupling foreign policy from human rights had" sent a message to oppressed people everywhere, 'Don't look to the United States for hope.'"

"I make a distinction between values and policy," Tillerson said on "Meet the Press." "A policy has to be tailored to the individual situation."

Mr Graham advised Trump to rein in his public reaction to the FBI's Russia investigation.

"I would advise the president not to tweet or comment about the investigation as we go forward," he said, adding, "The president needs to back off here and let the investigation go forward." THE NEW YORK TIMES