House Russia probe demands Trump proves Comey 'tapes' exist and gives June deadline

'Lordy, I hope there are tapes'

Donald Trump shakes hands with FBI director James Comey on 22 January 2017 (Getty)

Congressional investigators have asked the White House to provide any recordings or notes of conversations between Donald Trump and former FBI Director James Comey.

Leaders of the House Intelligence Committee said they had written to White House counsel, Don McGahn, asking him to provide any material that may exist.

Republican Mike Conaway and Democratic Representative Adam Schiff, said they had also written to Mr Comey with the same request. They asked that any material be made available by June 23.

The issue has been in the spotlight since Mr Comey testified before a Senate committee earlier this week and urged Mr Trump to release any tapes he had of the several conversations he and the President had before he was fired last month.

“I’ve seen the tweet about tapes. Lordy, I hope there are tapes,” Mr Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Mr Comey said he spoke with Mr Trump on numerous occasions and said that if the president had recorded those conversations, he hoped the President would make them available. “He should release all the tapes,” he said.

It was Mr Trump himself who had initially raised the suggestion that there recordings of their conversations when he tweeted last month: “James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press.”

Asked by the press whether there were any recording devices at the White House, a spokeswoman joked that she would hunt for them.

“Sure, I’ll try to look under the couches,” said spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.